FTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders take a hit; Evraz rallies on higher iron ore prices

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,307.35 in afternoon trade on Wednesday as investors mulled the latest inflation data and eyed an upcoming policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.

Housebuilders were under the cosh, with Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon both lower after data from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK house prices grew by less than 1.0% in July, marking the lowest annual growth rate since 2012.

B&Q owner Kingfisher was in the red as it said half-year profits fell on Brexit worries and the move to a low-price strategy at its French Castorama business as the company warned of a "mixed" full-year outlook.

Like-for-like sales fell 1.8% to £5.9bn with growth in Screwfix, Poland and Romania offset by B&Q in the and France as pre-tax profits came in 12.5% lower at £245m.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Kingfisher is three and a half years into its turnaround programme and the results are patchy to say the least. It talks about having better buying power and making IT system upgrades but overall ‘transformation activity’ is still impacting the operational performance.

"It will be interesting to see how long the market gives Garnier to make a difference. Investors must be losing patience, particularly as the share price last month hit a 10-year low. They will want immediate action otherwise this looks like a classic candidate for an activist investor to come in and demand changes such as the sale of its struggling French operations."

On the upside, Russian steelmaker Evraz was sitting pretty at the top of the index amid rising iron ore prices.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Evraz (EVR) 506.40p 1.71%
Halma (HLMA) 2,018.00p 1.41%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,177.20p 1.12%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 850.80p 1.09%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,978.00p 0.95%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 802.80p 0.93%
Glencore (GLEN) 255.60p 0.85%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 447.60p 0.83%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,161.00p 0.77%
National Grid (NG.) 849.40p 0.70%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 158.92p -2.83%
Kingfisher (KGF) 196.65p -2.41%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,002.00p -2.25%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 200.10p -1.96%
Pearson (PSON) 853.80p -1.86%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 199.15p -1.75%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,382.00p -1.57%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,142.00p -1.52%
3i Group (III) 1,121.50p -1.49%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,099.00p -1.41%