FTSE 100 movers: Taylor Wimpey rallies; REITs lose ground

London’s FTSE 100 was up 1.3% at 6,307.70 in afternoon trade on Friday.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey was the standout gainer, having lost ground earlier in the week after it raised more than £500m through the sale of new shares to help fund land acquisitions. Canaccord Genuity said that while the placing announced was a surprise and raises some questions, on balance, it understands the logic.

"It enables the group to lock in some attractive land-bank value; and if the housing market deteriorates more than expected, it provides (inadvertently) more near-term balance sheet comfort," it said.

Elsewhere, equipment rental firm Ashtead was up after Morgan Stanley and Barclays upped their price targets on the stock.

On the downside, real estate investment trusts British Land and Land Securities were the worst performers on the index, while plumbing and heating group Ferguson retreated.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 149.50p 4.73%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,756.00p 3.41%
Centrica (CNA) 43.33p 3.34%
Diageo (DGE) 2,896.00p 3.24%
3i Group (III) 841.80p 3.09%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,179.00p 3.06%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,268.00p 2.92%
WPP (WPP) 659.20p 2.87%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 517.60p 2.78%
Informa (INF) 499.30p 2.76%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

British Land Company (BLND) 408.30p -1.07%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 617.20p -0.93%
Ferguson (FERG) 6,544.00p -0.88%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,345.00p -0.84%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,945.50p -0.82%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 11,130.00p -0.18%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,500.00p -0.11%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 198.30p -0.10%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 335.20p -0.09%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,621.00p -0.05%