FTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders, BP rally; Reckitt retreats on results

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% to 7,017.28 in afternoon trade on Monday, unable to hold on to earlier gains despite a strong showing from BP and housebuilders.

Housebuilders were the best-performing sector, with Persimmon, Berkeley Group, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments all up after Philip Hammond announced in Monday's Budget that the Help to Buy scheme, which had been due to end in March 2021, will be extended to March 2023, under more restrictive terms.

Help to Buy will be restricted between 2021 and 2023 to first-time buyers only and will be restricted to houses with lower selling prices than before.

Shore Capital analyst Robin Hardy said: "The extension period will see tougher trading conditions, in our view, but the impact sits outside the current forecast window. On balance, we would expect a moderate relief rally, nothing large enough to wind back the significant de-rating we have seen since the early summer but perhaps enough to push stocks back above our fair value estimates."

Hardy said the limitations will affect housebuilders’ revenues, selling costs and margins, but more worrying changes have been avoided.

"Housebuilders will not have to invest their own capital and the existing scheme runs unaltered for another 27 months. The regional price caps feel lower than the blanket £300,000 ceiling most observers had expected but otherwise, the outcome is likely to be viewed as less harmful than it might have been."

Oil giant BP rallied as it enjoyed its best quarterly result in more than five years as profits gushed much higher than expected thanks to strong oil prices.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "BP has set the bar high for the oil majors in general, delivering a blockbuster set of earnings which have comfortably outpaced expectations.

"These numbers reflect a business which is back on its game and the initial share price reaction is understandably positive. This adds to some strength over the last year, during which time the shares have risen 7.5%, as compared to a 6% decline in the wider FTSE100. It seems that, yet again, BP has justified its market consensus rating as a strong buy."

Ocado was higher after saying it expects to receive orders for the first three US high-tech warehouses from grocer Kroger before the end of the year after the pair signed up to a formal services and operational agreement.

On the downside, Reckitt Benckiser retreated after the consumer goods giant posted a 2% rise in third-quarter like-for-like sales, missing consensus expectations for a 4% increase as it European Infant Formula and Child Nutrition plant was hit by a temporary manufacturing disruption.

Aerospace and defence companies Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems were weaker, taking their cue from US peers amid worries about possible US budget cuts.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Persimmon (PSN) 2,288.00p 2.79%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,469.00p 2.60%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 159.35p 2.54%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 510.00p 2.22%
BP (BP.) 547.00p 2.20%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 817.00p 2.02%
CRH (CRH) 2,252.00p 1.85%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 233.90p 1.65%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,889.00p 1.23%
Centrica (CNA) 149.40p 1.12%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,277.00p -5.05%
Just Eat (JE.) 576.00p -3.10%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,260.00p -2.92%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 808.20p -2.79%
BAE Systems (BA.) 509.60p -2.45%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,608.00p -1.92%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 706.80p -1.86%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,853.00p -1.55%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 584.60p -1.52%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,495.50p -1.51%