Homebuilders, miners spur bounce-back in British stocks
Reuters
Published Mar 01, 2021 08:23
Updated Mar 01, 2021 17:26
By Shivani Kumaresan and Amal S
(Reuters) - British shares rose on Monday, led by homebuilders and miners on reports of more domestic fiscal support, while relative stability in bond yields also helped stocks recover from last week's losses.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended up 1.6%, its best session in two weeks, with homebuilders Persimmon (LON:PSN) Plc, and Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) plc among the top gainers after a media report that British finance minister Rishi Sunak was expected to announce a mortgage guarantee program as part of the budget.[nL3N2KZ2GR]
"A mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers would be a better, more targeted policy than the blanket stamp duty holiday, to give a helping hand to those who otherwise might not be able to get on the housing ladder," said Laith Khalaf, financial analyst at AJ Bell.
British Airways-owner IAG (LON:ICAG) led gains in the FTSE 100 as optimism over a 2021 recovery in the travel sector spurred a slew of price target hikes.
The FTSE 100 fell 2.1% last week, snapping three consecutive weeks of gains as expectations of a spike in inflation and rising bond yields rattled sentiment.
But hopes of an economic recovery this year were pushed to the forefront as Sunak geared up to announce more borrowing on top of almost 300 billion pounds ($418 billion) of COVID-19 spending and tax cuts as part of his annual budget statement on Wednesday. [nL5N2KY08C]
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said the country's economy could recover more strongly after the coronavirus pandemic than some "pessimists" had predicted.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose 1.5%, even as British manufacturers reported their slowest output growth since May last month due to supply-chain disruptions and rising costs linked to Brexit and COVID-19.
Ladbrokes (LON:LCL) owner Entain rose 2.3% as it raised its offer for rival sports betting firm Enlabs AB, valuing the Sweden-based company at about 3.7 billion crowns ($440.16 million).
Get The App
Reach, publisher of Britain's Daily Mirror and Daily Express, fell 8.6%, after reporting a 12.8% drop in annual profit.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.