FTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders gain; gold miners lose their shine
London’s FTSE 100 was up 1.3% at 5,939.91 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Housebuilders Barratt, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey were on the rise after the latest survey from Nationwide showed that house prices reached a new all-time high in August, thanks in part to pent-up demand following Covid-19 restrictions.
Prices rose 2% on the month to £224,123, following a 1.8% increase in July. This marked the biggest monthly jump since February 2004 and pushed annual house price growth up to 3.7% in August from 1.5% the month before.
Analyst had been expecting a monthly rise of 0.5% and a yearly increase of 2%.
The sector was also boosted by a well-received set of results from Barratt. The housebuilder said full-year profits almost halved as the coronavirus lockdown hit sales in the fourth quarter, but reported a sharp rise in completions in the new year as restrictions were eased.
Elsewhere, GKN owner Melrose Industries was trading higher a day ahead of the release of its full-year results.
On the downside, precious metals miners Fresnillo and Polymetal lost ground as gold prices retreated.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 536.40p 6.51%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,671.00p 4.70%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 122.95p 4.50%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 99.54p 4.25%
ITV (ITV) 59.40p 4.10%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,460.00p 3.93%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,468.50p 3.78%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,566.50p 3.60%
Evraz (EVR) 337.00p 3.53%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,448.00p 3.50%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,291.50p -2.16%
Barclays (BARC) 104.06p -1.74%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 11,870.00p -1.53%
Polymetal International (POLY) 2,005.00p -1.33%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 105.35p -1.27%
3i Group (III) 908.00p -0.79%
M&G (MNG) 164.25p -0.79%
Prudential (PRU) 1,185.00p -0.75%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 374.90p -0.69%
Pearson (PSON) 541.40p -0.37%