MARKET REPORT: Miner Ferrexpo slides as it halts production in Ukraine

Shares in Ferrexpo plummeted as the iron ore exporter halted production in Ukraine after Russia’s latest attack.

The Ukraine-focused miner said none of his workers were injured after rocket attacks on cities like Kiev and Lviv, but bombs have damaged the state’s electrical infrastructure and reduced the available power supply.

As a result, it has ‘temporarily shut down’ production while technicians are carrying out repairs. The stock fell 4 percent, or 5.1p, to 121.9p.

Liberum maintained its estimates for Ferrexpo after the group insisted it had enough inventory to continue selling. Last week, it said eight workers had died while serving in the Ukrainian armed forces.

The FTSE 100 fell 1.06 percent or 74.08 points to 6885.23 and the FTSE 250, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary today, fell 1.29 percent or 221.23 points to 16,904.06.

In a sign that the government’s efforts to calm the markets appeared to have failed, the Bank of England warned of a “material risk” to financial stability and said it would step in to buy more bonds to ease pressure on the fluctuating to reduce price.

In America, Jamie Dimon, the boss of JP Morgan Chase, warned that the US could face a recession in six to nine months.

While oil prices fell 2.6 percent to about $94 a barrel, BP shares fell 2.1 percent or 9.85 pence to 452.6 pence, while Shell fell 1.8 percent or 41.5 pence to 2,286 pence and Harbor Energy plummeted 4.4 percent. or 19.4p, up to 423.4p.

Compass Group gained 0.9 percent, or 15.5 pence, to 1808.5 pence after Citigroup raised the catering giant’s target price from 2170p from 2170p to 2260p and reiterated a ‘buy’ advice.

Among the mid-cap stocks, yarn manufacturer Coats Group raised its medium-term target for revenue growth from 5 percent to 6 percent per year. Shares were up 1.3 percent or 0.7p to 52.9p.

Daily Mirror owner Reach appeared to push weaker trading aside last month as it previewed potential ad revenue from Black Friday, Christmas and the World Cup.

Sales fell 4.1 percent in September after the Queen’s death, as newspaper sales rose but advertising revenues fell. Shares fell 1 percent, or 0.8p, to 76.25p.

Marks Electrical Group proved that consumers still want to spend on household items as sales of air fryers, televisions and vacuum cleaners increased.

Sales shot up 15.1 per cent to £43.1 million in the six months to the end of September, as brokers at Davy said it was a ‘rare beast’ to hold onto full-year expectations. It rose 4.5 percent, or 2.5p, to 58.5p.

Sureserve, the social housing energy services group, rose 3.1 percent, or 2.5 pence, to 77.5 pence after annual sales of £585 million were 16 percent higher than in 2021.

Pub group Marston’s said spirits sales have encouraged trade. The company, which operates 1,468 pubs and has 12,000 employees, said people still frequent pubs and is optimistic about an important winter that includes the World Cup.

Sales for the ten weeks from July 24 to October 1, rose 4 percent year-on-year. The stock rose 5.8 percent or 2.08p to 37.98p.

YouGov’s co-founder Stephan Shakespeare plans to step down as chief executive to become chairman in August, when current chairman Roger Parry retires and there is a new chief executive.

Sales for the year to the end of July were 31 per cent higher than a year earlier at £221.1 million, while profits rose 34 per cent to £25.3 million. Shares fell 3.7 percent, or 30p, to 790p.

Robert Walters’ profits for the three months to September 30 were 22 percent higher than a year earlier, to £112 million.

It rose 0.4 percent, or 2p, to 492p. Bank and floor seller SCS reported a profit of £16.4m for the year to the end of June – down from £22.7m last year. It gained 3.3 percent, or 4p, to 125.5p.