LONDON, Sept 2 — London-listed shares rose for the first time in four sessions today as a surge in house prices to record highs powered stocks of homebuilders, while Rolls-Royce jumped to the top of the FTSE 100.
The blue-chip index and the mid-cap FTSE 250 climbed 1.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively, with homebuilders set for their best day in nearly two months as data showed house prices jumped 2 per cent in August, the biggest month-on-month increase since 2004.
“Investors have begun to regain confidence following some positivity on the economic front (but) the sentiment remains largely cautious as markets are factoring in a slower pace of recovery going ahead,” said David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets.
The FTSE 100 has bounced since a coronavirus-driven crash in March, but is still about 22 per cent below its January highs, lagging US and European peers, which have been propelled by a raft of global stimulus.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index jumped more than 1 per cent on Wednesday even as data showed German retail sales fell unexpectedly in July, dashing hopes that household spending in Europe’s largest economy will be powerful enough to drive a strong recovery in the third quarter.
In the UK, media stocks, beverage companies and personal goods makers were among the biggest gainers. Life insurance was the only index trading in the red.
Britain’s top homebuilder, Barratt Developments Plc, jumped 6.9 per cent to the top of the FTSE 100 even as it scrapped a special dividend payout and reported a near 30 per cent fall in full-year housing completions and revenue. — Reuters
