Mining shares mayhem digs hole for blue chips

MINERS weighed on the stock market in London as the FTSE 100 fell for a fifth session in a row.

Copper giant Antofagasta fell 2.8pc, or 39.5p, to 1393.5p, Glencore was down 4.8pc, or 24.2p to 481.3p, Rio Tinto dropped 1.9pc, or 110p, to 5580p and Anglo American slid 2.6pc, or 94.5p, to 3518.5p.

The sell-off came as copper fell 1pc and aluminium hit a sixmonth low over concerns about global economic growth.

The mood was not helped by what the authorities in Beijing referred to as a ‘ferocious’ Covid outbreak in China’s capital – sparking fears that further restrictions may be on the way.

Ferrexpo, one of the world’s leading iron ore pellets producer with operations in Ukraine, took an even bigger hit.

The FTSE 250 commodity trading and mining company has been hammered by the war and, with Ukraine’s Black Sea ports closed, it has diverted sales to European markets via the country’s rail network and its barging operations.

The company said the rail network has suffered ‘ periodic disruption, with the national rail operator having to consistently repair and reopen damaged sections of the railway network following Russian air strikes’.

It has now suffered a further setback, with a Russian missile strike in south-west Ukraine hitting its barging operations, which accounted for 0.8m tonnes of iron ore deliveries last year.

Ferrexpo also said it has produced 4.4m tonnes of iron ore pellets so far this year – down 8pc on the same period last year. Chief executive Jim North said the company has now lowered its production schedule for the summer.

‘Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created a changeable and unpredictable situation,’ he said. Shares fell 6.6pc, or 10.8p, to 153.3p.

Faring better was the blue-chip silver miner Fresnillo as its shares rose 5.6pc, or 41.6p, to 790p.

‘The mood out there is pretty grim, with the relief rally seen in late May starting to feel like a distant memory,’ said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

‘You know things are bad when the best performer among the UK’s top stocks is precious metal producer Fresnillo as investors reach for traditional safe havens.’

The FTSE 100 index slid 1.5pc, or 111.71 points, to 7205.81, and the FTSE 250 dropped 2.6pc, or 513.11 points, to 19,160.21.

Such losses filtered across the globe, with Frankfurt down 2.4pc and Paris off 2.7pc.

Wall Street continued to be plagued by inflation fears, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.8pc, the S&P 500 off 3.9pc and the tech-dominated Nasdaq 4.7pc lower.

It was another tough session for travel stocks as chaos in the airline industry, worries about Covid in China and the cost of living crisis took their toll.

In the top-tier, Intercontinental Hotels (IHG), the owner of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, was down 7.9pc, or 371p, to 4310p and British Airways- owner IAG fell 4.6pc, or 5.48p to 115.02p.

This was also the case for the mid- cap firms as Wizz Air sank 9pc, or 206p, to 2081p and the holiday giant TUI dipped 7.4pc, or 12.75p, to 158.65p.

AIM-listed Scancell rose 2.9pc, or 0.38p, to 13.13p after it treated the first patient in its Modi-1 cancer treatment clinical trial at Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College NHS Trust.

Tekmar crashed 38pc, or 14.8p, to 24.2p after it said it could sell the company as it struggled to recover losses during ‘challenging global trading conditions’. The firm – which makes undersea power cable coatings for wind turbines – said that in its half-year results for the six months to the end of March, revenue fell to £13m from £13.9m a year earlier while its losses widened to £1.8m from £1.1m.