London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,089.12 in afternoon trade on Monday.
BT was the standout gainer after announcing the launch of a new business unit that will serve “the millions of UK firms which are either small by design or just starting up”.
Royal Mail rallied following reports it will offer timed delivery slots next year as it looks to compete with Amazon.
Housebuilders gained after the latest survey from Halifax showed that house prices hit another record high in May, with annual growth up 9.5%. On the month, house prices were up 1.3%.
The sector was also boosted by a note from Liberum, which upgraded Taylor Wimpey to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ and said Persimmon was its large-cap “top pick”.
On the downside, miners Antofagasta, Anglo American and Glencore were all weaker after disappointing Chinese trade data and as base metals prices fell.
FTSE 100 – Risers
BT Group (BT.A) 183.45p 3.64%
Persimmon (PSN) 3,253.00p 3.24%
Royal Mail (RMG) 605.60p 2.47%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 773.60p 2.36%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 284.60p 1.97%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 200.15p 1.94%
St James’s Place (STJ) 1,456.50p 1.89%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,112.00p 1.87%
WPP (WPP) 1,016.00p 1.86%
Informa (INF) 550.60p 1.85%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,529.00p -2.33%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,180.00p -2.29%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 529.40p -1.85%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,673.50p -1.70%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,864.50p -1.04%
Glencore (GLEN) 326.35p -1.03%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,465.00p -1.03%
Fresnillo (FRES) 866.40p -1.03%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 475.00p -0.86%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,217.50p -0.77%
