FTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders rally; Fresnillo loses its shine

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 6,120.42 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

Education publisher Pearson gained, having fallen sharply in the previous session on downbeat broker notes.

Housebuilders Berkeley, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon rallied on the back of a Financial Times report suggesting UK ministers are drawing up plans to extend the Help to Buy scheme beyond its December deadline to prevent buyers losing out because of coronavirus delays.

IG analyst Joshua Mahony said: "With the recent stamp duty holiday expected to spark a resurgence in demand, speculation over the potential measures such as a help-to-buy extension adds yet another string to the bulls bow.

"Fears surrounding a potential spike in bankruptcies and job losses remain an issue for banks, yet the housing sector still has the opportunity to enjoy a particularly strong period as previously hesitant movers finally take the plunge thanks to government incentives."

Going the other way, precious metals miners Fresnillo and Polymetal were on the back foot, having surged a day earlier as gold prices hit a new record high. Fresnillo was also in focus after it said higher commodity prices and lower costs had resulted in a "significant" rise in profitability during the first half.

Wealth manager St James’s Place was also in the red after the release of its interim results.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Pearson (PSON) 541.20p 5.66%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,709.00p 5.32%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 541.80p 4.84%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 134.15p 3.19%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,539.00p 3.13%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 546.00p 2.59%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,482.00p 2.22%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,630.00p 2.13%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 604.80p 2.13%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,730.50p 1.88%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,237.00p -3.09%
WPP (WPP) 587.40p -2.59%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,888.00p -2.30%
CRH (CRH) 2,948.00p -1.77%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 720.20p -1.53%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,723.20p -1.43%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,419.00p -1.36%
St James's Place (STJ) 955.20p -1.20%
Glencore (GLEN) 182.80p -1.19%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 10,570.00p -1.17%