FTSE dips into the red
House price gloom outweighed gains for energy stocks as the London market dipped into the red today.
Retailers, housebuilders and banks were all well into negative territory as investors fretted over the latest survey from Nationwide that showed a record 2.5% fall in house prices during May.
Crude rising back up above US$130 (€84) a barrel mark buoyed oil firms, but the downbeat sentiment elsewhere saw the FTSE 100 Index close 1.5 points down at 6068.1.
Better than expected economic growth figures from the US failed to inspire London’s afternoon session, as the steep monthly drop in house prices shown by Nationwide caused misery for a host of Footsie firms.
Charles Church owner Persimmon was the biggest loser of the day, falling 5%, or 26p to 487.5p. Second tier rivals Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes were also down, falling 8p to 85.5p and 19p to 429p respectively.
In the fall-out from the house price misery, building supplies firm Wolseley was another casualty, shedding 19.5p to 537.5p, a drop of more than 3%. B&Q owner Kingfisher was also on the back foot, falling 4.2p to 135.7p, with Argos and Homebase parent Home Retail Group slipping 7.25p to 228.75p.
Banks also suffered amid fears that several looming rights issues in the sector may not be fully taken up by shareholders.
Royal Bank of Scotland, which has asked investors for £12bn (€15.3bn), slipped 6.25p to 231.75p, and Halifax Bank of Scotland, which is calling for £4bn (€5bn), fell 16.75p to 414.25p.
Oil firms dominated the risers’ board, with Cairn Energy and Tullow Oil near the top with rises of more than 3%. Cairn was 104p better off at 3419p, with Tullow 24.5p up at 922p. BP and Shell – two of the market’s biggest stocks - also rose, adding 7p to 612.5p and 31p to 2188p respectively.
Domestic power generator and supplier Scottish & Southern Energy added 14p to 1466p after saying it was targeting nine million customers this year. The group added 700,000 during the year to March after delaying bill hikes to the end of the month.
Top of the risers’ board was Man Group after the investment house posted pre-tax profits of more than US$2bn (£1bn/€1.3bn) for the year to March 31, as well as a 21% rise in assets under management to US€75bn (£37.9bn/€48.2bn). Shares in the company were up 5%, or 30.5p to 615p.
It was closely followed by miner Eurasian Natural Resources which rose 71p to 1481p after being picked out a sector star by Credit Suisse analysts.
The Footsie’s four biggest risers were Man Group up 30.5p to 615p, Eurasian Natural Resources, up 71p to 1481p, Cairn Energy up 104p at 3419p and Old Mutual which ended the day 3.5p ahead at 115.6p.
The four biggest fallers were Persimmon, down 26p to 487.5p, HBOS down 16.75p at 414.25p, Wolseley which was off 19.5p to 537.5p and Kingfisher, off 4.2p to 135.7p
