FTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders bounce back, but retailers retreat

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.5% to 7,444.16 in afternoon trade on Friday as investors mulled the latest data on manufacturing, industrial production and construction.

Housebuilders Barratt Developments and Persimmon were among the top gainers, recovering from losses in the previous session, when figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed house prices were down in four areas of the country in October, with London, the South East, East Anglia and north-east England all showing declines.

On the downside, distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl was weaker as Morgan Stanley recommended switching to Rexel to benefit from the unwinding of Bunzl's premium.

Luxury fashion house Burberry was under the cosh again as UBS downgraded its stance on the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ and cut the price target to 1,800p from 2,110p following the company’s update a day earlier as it now sees a balanced risk/reward.

Marks & Spencer and Primark owner Associated British Foods were in the red after data from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO showed UK retailers had their worst October for high street sales in a decade, with an unusually warm autumn blamed for putting the mockers on sales of coats and other seasonal wear.

Risers

Barratt Developments (BDEV) 620.00p 1.31%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,181.50p 0.87%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,682.00p 0.75%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 230.90p 0.74%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 190.20p 0.63%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,568.50p 0.61%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 380.80p 0.58%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,380.00p 0.56%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 599.00p 0.50%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 415.00p 0.48%

Fallers

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,171.00p -5.94%
SSE (SSE) 1,361.00p -2.37%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,746.00p -2.29%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,869.50p -1.86%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 319.30p -1.81%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,336.00p -1.76%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,300.00p -1.74%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,058.00p -1.74%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,325.50p -1.56%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 602.00p -1.47%