FTSE 250 movers: Cranswick rallies on update; easyJet flies lower

London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.2% at 17,766.26 in afternoon trade on Monday.

Gold miner Petropavlovsk was the top performer as it appointed Maksim Meshcheriakov as interim chief executive following board changes at last week’s AGM.

Food producer Cranswick rallied as it said it expects full-year results to be ahead of expectations after first-quarter revenues rose by almost a quarter as more Britons ate at home during the coronavirus lockdown.

The company said revenue in the 13 weeks to June 27 was up year-on-year. Excluding the contribution from acquisitions made in the prior year, revenue on a like-for-like basis was 19.2% higher. The trend had continued into the second three months of the fiscal year, it added.

Travel stocks and those with particular exposure to the Covid-19 pandemic were under the cosh amid concerns about a rise in new cases and as it emerged that Greece and Croatia, along with six other countries, could be next on the UK quarantine list. The UK already added France, the Netherlands and Malta - among others - last week.

The sector was also hit by Germany's decision to add Spain, excluding the Canary Islands, to its list of high-risk coronavirus areas.

Cineworld, TUI, Carnival, Upper Crust owner SSP, easyJet and WH Smith were all in the red.

EasyJet was also in focus after the budget airline confirmed it would close three of its bases in the UK, blaming the pandemic and associated government quarantine restrictions.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Petropavlovsk (POG) 33.85p 7.29%
Cranswick (CWK) 4,042.00p 5.70%
AJ Bell (AJB) 448.50p 4.30%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 134.00p 4.20%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,938.00p 3.13%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 279.80p 2.94%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 207.00p 2.93%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 237.40p 2.68%
Greencore Group (GNC) 123.70p 2.66%
Assura (AGR) 82.90p 2.09%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Cineworld Group (CINE) 47.44p -6.50%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 299.30p -5.16%
Carnival (CCL) 936.60p -4.27%
SSP Group (SSPG) 230.40p -4.24%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 65.75p -4.01%
easyJet (EZJ) 548.40p -3.92%
Ascential (ASCL) 289.40p -3.73%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 164.80p -3.51%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,506.00p -3.46%
WH Smith (SMWH) 950.50p -3.45%