London’s FTSE 100 was flat at 7,128.24 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
House builder Barratt was the standout performer on index after it said strong demand for its homes had continued into the current fiscal year despite a reduction in government incentives, adding it was on track to deliver full-year medium targets.
Peers Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Berkeley also pushed higher.
On the downside, Informa was weaker after UBS downgraded its stance on the business intelligence and exhibitions group to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’, saying the travel recovery is likely to be slower than the market expects and that it expects material short-term earnings downgrades.
BT Group was under pressure after HSBC cut the shares to ‘reduce’ from ‘hold’ and trimmed the price target to 125p from 135p., citing potentially “major shifts” in the wholesale broadband market.
Miners lost ground, with BHP and Rio both lower. IG market analyst Joshua Mahony said iron ore dependent miners “remain at risk of a volatile time as traders seek to ascertain exactly how much these Chinese energy curbs will dampen industrial production”.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 679.80p 5.92%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,729.00p 4.52%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 155.60p 4.15%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,656.00p 3.55%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,722.00p 3.10%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,698.50p 2.97%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,570.00p 2.76%
Croda International (CRDA) 8,654.00p 2.73%
St James’s Place (STJ) 1,465.50p 2.66%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,507.00p 2.62%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Informa (INF) 561.20p -2.06%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 172.86p -1.73%
BT Group (BT.A) 142.90p -1.62%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,003.00p -1.51%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,921.40p -1.47%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,932.00p -1.46%
BP (BP.) 353.10p -1.42%
Barclays (BARC) 194.70p -1.40%
Aviva (AV.) 398.60p -1.29%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,798.00p -1.10%
