London midday: FTSE dips as housebuilders slump on cladding news
London stocks were still a touch lower by midday on Monday, with housebuilders under the cosh.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,477.78.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Despite some tentative positivity in Asian trading, the UK index was not helped by a weak start for the housebuilding sector.
"The UK Government is reportedly looking for property developers to take on a greater share of the costs of repairing dangerous apartment blocks in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy in 2017.
"Many flat owners have been left with onerous costs for replacing flammable cladding and the latest reports on who will foot the bill should come as no surprise to the sector in that context.
"The housebuilders have benefited from generous incentives, such as Help to Buy and the mortgage guarantee scheme, in recent years. However, state support is not a one-way street and the sector needs to do its bit to look after its customers.
"With a quiet start to the week for big corporate and economic announcements, markets could remain in a holding pattern until Wednesday when US inflation figures will reveal just how acute inflationary pressures are in the world’s largest economy."
Persimmon, Barratt, Berkeley, Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Countryside, Vistry, Crest Nicholson and Redrow all slumped on news the government will seek an extra £4bn from property developers to fund cladding repairs on low-rise flats.
Luxury car maker Aston Martin was also in the red, with traders pointing to a Sunday Times share tip suggesting investors sell the stock.
On the upside, British Airways and Iberia owner IAG, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, engine marker Rolls-Royce, Cineworld and budget airlines easyJet and Wizz Air were all trading up as worries about Omicron eased.
Coca-Cola HBC was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
ITV also rose after an upgrade to ‘outperform’ at Exane, while Tate & Lyle benefited from the same rating upgrade.
Plus500 rallied after saying it had delivered an "outstanding" operational and financial performance throughout FY2021, ahead of market expectations.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,477.78 -0.10%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,289.66 -0.27%
techMARK (TASX) 4,482.80 -0.09%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Entain (ENT) 1,707.50p 2.86%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 165.42p 2.73%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 11,510.00p 2.54%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,679.00p 2.49%
Barclays (BARC) 208.85p 1.75%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 116.58p 1.73%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,215.00p 1.58%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 129.12p 1.56%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,066.00p 1.50%
ITV (ITV) 116.00p 1.49%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Persimmon (PSN) 2,665.00p -4.62%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 709.80p -3.48%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 14,725.00p -3.19%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,159.50p -3.17%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 4,348.00p -2.73%
Croda International (CRDA) 9,216.00p -2.56%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,643.00p -2.52%
Experian (EXPN) 3,332.00p -2.40%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 168.80p -2.40%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,914.00p -2.38%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Cineworld Group (CINE) 39.97p 7.71%
TP Icap Group (TCAP) 164.00p 4.13%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 238.60p 3.65%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,858.00p 3.34%
National Express Group (NEX) 261.60p 3.07%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 702.00p 3.05%
easyJet (EZJ) 640.20p 2.96%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 264.60p 2.72%
Premier Foods (PFD) 115.00p 2.68%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 265.30p 2.47%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,404.50p -3.87%
Redrow (RDW) 660.60p -3.70%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 254.00p -3.61%
Bellway (BWY) 3,124.00p -3.31%
Greggs (GRG) 2,974.00p -2.87%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 432.00p -2.83%
Future (FUTR) 3,458.00p -2.81%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 369.40p -2.79%
Rotork (ROR) 349.80p -2.73%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,602.00p -2.62%