London open: Stocks in the black as housebuilders rally
London stocks edged higher in early trade on Monday, underpinned by a strong performance in the housebuilding sector as investors looked ahead to the latest reading on UK manufacturing.
At 0825 BST, the FTSE 10 was up 0.3% to 7,394.10 while the pound was down 0.4% against the dollar at 1.3342.
A survey released on Saturday revealed that China's factory activity expended at the fastest pace in five years in September, with the official manufacturing PMI coming in at 52.4 from 51.7 in August. This marked the highest level since April 2012.
Closer to home, market participants will be keeping an eye on the Tory Party conference that got underway over the weekend and eyeing Markit's manufacturing purchasing managers' index for September at 0930 BST.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "In the UK the FTSE was also feeling chipper, rising 0.4% to tease 7400. Whether it can maintain that growth will largely be dependent on how the pound reacts to the latest UK manufacturing PMI, with analysts expecting the figure to slip from 56.9 to 56.3 month-on-month."
Any headlines from Spain will also be closely watched after Catalans voted for independence from Spain, with preliminary results revealing that around 90% of respondents favoured a split over the weekend. However, the turnout was low and the referendum was deemed illegal by Madrid. More than 800 people were hurt on Sunday as riot police attacked protesters and civilians going to cast their ballots.
Housebuilders were the standout gainers after Prime Minister Theresa May said the government will find an extra £10bn for the Help to Buy scheme to let another 135,000 people get on the property ladder. Barratt Developments, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley, Bovis, McCarthy & Stone, Bellway, Redrow and Crest Nicholson all racked up impressive gains.
Elsewhere, Indivior was on the front foot after it submitted a new drug application in the US for a once-monthly injectable schizophrenia treatment and agreed to buy out patent rights from a manufacturer of similar antipsychotic medication.
Lloyd's of London insurer Hiscox nudged higher after saying net claims from hurricanes Harvey and Irma were likely to total around $225mm based on an insured market loss of $35bn.
Airlines got a boost as Monarch went into administration, with easyJet and IAG both flying higher.
Kaz Minerals pushed higher after it said that following continued commissioning progress, the Aktogay sulphide plant has been declared commercial.
Tritax Big Box slipped as it announced that it has exchanged contracts to acquire a national distribution centre at Danes Way, Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal in Northamptonshire, let to Royal Mail Group.
Assura nudged down despite saying it continued to make "good progress" for the six months to the end of September.
In broker note action, temporary power supplier Aggreko slumped as Berenberg downgraded the stock to 'sell' from 'hold' but Mondi was boosted as Jefferies reaffirmed its 'buy' rating.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,394.10 0.29%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,941.54 0.34%
techMARK (TASX) 3,495.44 0.17%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 639.50p 4.07%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,679.00p 3.76%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,260.00p 3.53%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 200.10p 2.35%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,364.00p 1.83%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,019.00p 1.80%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,776.00p 1.59%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,284.00p 1.42%
Kingfisher (KGF) 302.30p 1.27%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 600.00p 1.10%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Mediclinic International (MDC) 641.50p -1.31%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,152.00p -1.01%
BAE Systems (BA.) 627.00p -0.71%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,265.00p -0.68%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 619.00p -0.64%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,651.50p -0.44%
BT Group (BT.A) 282.80p -0.39%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 208.10p -0.34%
Barclays (BARC) 192.75p -0.31%
National Grid (NG.) 921.90p -0.29%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,133.00p 3.56%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 153.80p 2.88%
Bellway (BWY) 3,368.00p 2.15%
Redrow (RDW) 605.00p 2.11%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 789.50p 2.07%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 564.00p 1.99%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 687.00p 1.40%
Indivior (INDV) 344.30p 1.35%
Elementis (ELM) 274.50p 1.33%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 2,569.00p 1.30%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aggreko (AGK) 867.50p -7.61%
Nex Group (NXG) 637.00p -3.78%
Greencore Group (GNC) 189.60p -3.36%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 188.50p -2.99%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 295.70p -1.83%
Fidelity European Values (FEV) 218.30p -1.44%
Alfa Financial Software Holdings (ALFA) 500.00p -1.28%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 607.50p -1.14%
PayPoint (PAY) 945.00p -1.00%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 262.10p -0.98%