FTSE 100 flirts with record high but falters once more
The FTSE 100 once more narrowly missed on a record closing high on Wednesday after faltering in the final moments of the trading session.
The UK’s flagship index edged up 0.13 per cent to 8864.35p.
This brought it just short of March’s record close of 8871.31p.
Housebuilders topped the morning risers with Persimmon and Barratt Redrow climbing over two per cent and Berkeley nearly two per cent before later retreating on gains.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 closed up nearly 0.2 per cent to 21,428.54p. Builder Vistry had a nine per cent surge in early trading before falling back to a gain of six per cent.
This came as Reeves injected £39bn into the government’s affordable homes plan as part of her Spending Review.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: “Housebuilders had a rather splendid day, after the Chancellor confirmed £39 billion of investment in affordable and social housing, which she claims is the biggest cash injection in fifty years.
“This comes on top of existing plans to remove red tape around planning permission to make it easier for housebuilders to develop new homes and flats. There is a clear tailwind for the housebuilding sector and the cherry on top would be a further decline in interest rates so more people can afford to get on the housing ladder.”
Lenders with Asian-ties enjoyed a shares bump after the US and China agreed to a framework deal to restore a trade war truce. Standard Chartered jumped over one per cent.
Rolls-Royce continued its rally after being named the government’s winning bidder to provide small modular reactor technology. Shares were up 1.5 per cent.
Markets shrug off Spending Review
London markets were also hit with a double blow of foreign takeovers this morning as KKR returned with a final bid for GP Landlord Assura and engineering firm Ricardo was snapped up by a Canadian consultancy giant.
Shares in Ricardo soared 26 per cent on the news.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said a “cautious mood” had descended on London markets ahead of Reeves’ inaugural Spending Review.
But markets remained relatively subdued throughout the course of the day.
Hewson said: “The FTSE 100 has returned over 10 per cent so far this year, a heady performance which might just be the green shoots of a revival in the UK equity market.
“It’s early days, but a sustained period of strong performance could see investors reappraise the prospects for UK stocks, and create a virtuous circle whereby more money starts to flow into UK plc, boosting performance even further.”