London close: FTSE bounces off five-month low after late rally

UK stocks managed to claw their way back to finish flat on Tuesday as investors sought out bargains after markets dropped to a five-month intraday low.

Stocks in the tobacco, housebuilding and pharmaceutical sectors extended gains late on, while Royal Mail rebounded after earlier weakness, making up for falls in the heavyweight mining and banking sectors.

The FTSE 100 ended the day down just 0.42 points (-0.01%) at 6,710.10 after a late afternoon rally across Europe.

The rebound followed a decent start on Wall Street after stronger-than-expected housing data, with May US housing permits rising at their fastest rate since 2007.

Nevertheless, the Footsie sank to a daily low of 6,656.90 earlier on, a level not seen mid-January, as the Greek debt crisis raged on.

An abrupt end to negotiations at the weekend in Brussels with Greece’s lenders has rattled investors' nerves over recent days, as discussions collapsed after just 45 minutes on the back of disagreements over issues such as pension reforms and tax rates.

Eurozone officials are now considering an emergency summit next weekend amid fears that Athens and its creditors will not reach a deal at a meeting of finance ministers on Thursday.

“While this does cue up excitement for the end of this week and the beginning of the next, it leaves us no further along the road to a solution,” said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.

Defensives gain

A reduction in risk appetite benefitted stocks in defensive sectors such as tobacco and pharmaceuticals. British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Glaxosmithkline all finished higher and managed to hold on to gains despite the wider market rally.

British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco were boosted after Credit Suisse reinstated coverage on both stocks at ‘outperform’. The broker applauded BAT’s “consistent track record” and showed optimism about Imperial’s recent purchase of Reynolds assets.

Meanwhile, GSK was up on rumours it could become the latest takeover target in the industry. According to the Daily Mail, market participants are speculating that the company may face an approach from Switzerland’s Roche or US company Johnson & Johnson at about 1900p per share.

Housebuilders also performed well, such as Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Crest Nicholson. Crest Nicholson impressed with an upbeat outlook as it posted a 52% jump in first-half profits.

Royal Mail shares bounced into positive territory, erasing earlier losses on concerns about an Ofcom review into the regulation of the postal operator after the withdrawal of rival Whistl. Despite investor concerns, Investec reiterated a ‘buy’ recommendation on Royal Mail, saying: “We do not expect any substantive changes when the review concludes in 2016.”

Industrial equipment hire company Ashtead underwhelmed with full-year results. The group posted a 33% rise in full-year pre-tax profit to £473.8m on strong US and UK markets.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,153.62 +0.07%
FTSE 100 6,710.10 -0.01%
FTSE 250 17,736.19 +0.04%

FTSE 100 - Risers
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,511.00p +2.92%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 609.50p +2.27%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,246.00p +2.24%
Centrica (CNA) 267.40p +2.06%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 186.90p +1.91%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,959.00p +1.66%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,380.00p +1.32%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,336.50p +1.12%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,366.00p +1.11%
National Grid (NG.) 858.00p +1.11%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,502.00p -2.68%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,097.00p -2.66%
Anglo American (AAL) 972.20p -2.23%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,745.50p -2.17%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 712.50p -2.13%
Fresnillo (FRES) 720.00p -1.84%
BT Group (BT.A) 445.25p -1.61%
Glencore (GLEN) 274.20p -1.46%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 502.00p -1.28%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,089.00p -1.27%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Ladbrokes (LAD) 122.10p +4.36%
De La Rue (DLAR) 535.50p +2.78%
Man Group (EMG) 164.80p +2.36%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 159.00p +2.32%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,255.00p +2.27%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 556.00p +2.11%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,906.00p +2.07%
Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,532.00p +1.79%
Computacenter (CCC) 730.00p +1.74%
National Express Group (NEX) 313.50p +1.69%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 232.00p -4.92%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 61.65p -3.52%
Allied Minds (ALM) 545.00p -2.94%
Lonmin (LMI) 127.00p -2.08%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 362.00p -2.00%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 882.50p -2.00%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 582.00p -1.94%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 181.10p -1.90%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 674.00p -1.89%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 2,178.00p -1.80%