FTSE 250 movers: Miners gain but Sports Direct slumps on profit warning

London’s FTSE 250 index was down 0.6% to 18,014.02 in afternoon trade.

Miners such as Evraz and Hochschild got a boost from a sector note by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in which it upgraded its price assumptions for the metals and mining sector in zinc, nickel and coal.

DS Smith racked up healthy gains as Barclays initiated coverage of the corrugated packaging manufacturer at ‘overweight’ with a 465p price target.

The bank said its investment case is based on expectations that DS Smith will continue to gain market share in a very fragmented market. It also pointed to the company’s substantial exposure to the fast-moving consumer goods sector, saying this makes its returns more stable than those of its competitors.

“Since the arrival of Miles Roberts as its CEO, DS Smith has continued to increase its share of sales in this segment, which has allowed the company to generate more stable cash flows compared with its competitors that are more exposed to the industrials sector.”

On the downside, Sports Direct was under pressure after warning that its full-year 2017 earnings would take a hit from recent currency movements.

The group said guidance provided in its trading update in September of underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of around £300m was based on a GBP/USD rate of approximately 1.30.

In light In light of recent downward currency movements, it entered into a hedging arrangement with respect to the GBP/USD rate.

“Extreme movements overnight resulted in a crystallisation of that rate at 1.19, resulting in a negative impact of approximately £15m on the company's FY17 underlying EBITDA expectation,” it said.

Fidessa slid as UBS downgraded the stock to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’. The bank said that although the company has benefited from recent sterling weakness, this was only masking structural concerns.

Housebuilder Bovis Homes was also in the red after Halifax revealed UK house price growth eased in the three months to September. Prices rose an annualised 5.8% in the quarter to an average of £214,024 following a 6.9% year-on-year increase in the three months to August. It marked the slowest pace in more than three years and comes after Britain voted to leave the European Union on 23 June.

Risers

Evraz (EVR) 199.00p 7.57%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 265.50p 6.29%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 485.00p 5.46%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 244.70p 5.34%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 152.20p 4.75%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 415.90p 4.44%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 635.50p 3.42%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 940.50p 3.24%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 610.50p 3.04%
Halma (HLMA) 1,117.00p 2.85%

Fallers

Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,320.00p -5.84%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 283.70p -5.56%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 182.10p -5.30%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 226.20p -4.92%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 67.75p -4.85%
Countrywide (CWD) 200.20p -4.62%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 135.40p -4.51%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 821.50p -4.37%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 261.40p -4.35%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 272.80p -4.28%