FTSE 250 movers: Miners soar while Mitie sinks

The FTSE 250 was just above the line on Monday afternoon, as mining shares rallied on an increase in metal prices.

Miners were leading the charge on the index, with prices rising thanks to a weaker dollar - a result of investors betting that the US Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold for September.

Analysts have pushed back their expectations for the next rates hike after a slew of weaker-than-expected economic data in recent weeks.

On the index, Centamin, Vedanta Resources and Evraz were leading the risers in afternoon trading, with Acacia Mining and Hochschild Mining also featuring.

The downside saw outsourcer Mitie Group plummet, after it warned that full year profits would be materially lower than expected due to a drop-off in higher margin contracts in the first-half and the cost of new efficiency programmes.

Revenue and profit in the property management segment has been "significantly" hit by local authority budget pressures and particularly by the statutory social housing rent reductions that came into effect in April, which have reduced the funding available to local authorities and housing associations for repairs, maintenance and project works.

Management said they will carry out a review of the long-term plans for the healthcare business as trading has deteriorated as reduced local authority social care budgets combined with unsustainable pricing in some areas.

Cheese and butter maker Dairy Crest was also a big loser, after it said that sudden cost inflation across all dairy markets is likely to have an impact on butter volumes and margins in the second half, after first-half profits were up on the previous year.

The group said that for the full year its guidance remained unchanged.

that three of its four key brands, Clover, Country Life and Frylight had all shown strong volume growth and continued to increase market share in the first half, while the relaunch of Cathedral City as a more premium brand with a lower discount than rivals was likely to result in a small volume decline but improved margins.

For the second half Cathedral City is expected to see improved volumes.