Shares in Britain’s housebuilders rose on fresh hopes that the housing market will become red-hot once again.
Figures from Rightmove (up 1.9 per cent, or 10p, to 542p) show the Bank of England’s recent interest rate cut – the first in four years – has sparked a surge in demand among potential buyers.
Estate agents have reported a 19 per cent increase in enquiries about homes for sale this month compared to the same period last year, according to the property website. And interest from potential buyers in July was 11 per cent higher than the year before.
The industry is recovering from 12 months ago when higher interest rates and soaring inflation flattened demand.
Rightmove also reported a 5 per cent rise in the number of new sellers coming to market as confidence to move increases.
Building upwars: Shares in Britain’s housebuilders rose on fresh hopes that the housing market will become red-hot once again
Tim Bannister, a director at Rightmove, said: ‘The first base rate since 2020 has sparked a welcome late summer boost in buyer activity.’
The latest figures lifted builders, with Bellway up 2.5 per cent, or 74p, to 3,100p, Persimmon adding 1.6 per cent, or 26p, to 1,681p and Taylor Wimpey rising 1.4 per cent, or 2.3p, to 163.85p.
Anthony Codling, an analyst at investment bank RBC, said it seems that ‘whilst Labour seeks to get Britain building, the Bank of England’s actions will get Britain moving’.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent, or 45.53 points, to 8356.94 and the FTSE 250 added 0.5 per cent, or 108.56 points, to 21157.47. Investors are shunning riskier assets weeks after the global market meltdown.
Stock Watch – Intercede
Shares in Intercede rose after it teamed up with Microsoft.
The cyber-security software group will work with the US tech giant to help organisations create and register passkeys – which are more secure than passwords – for users on mobile phones and other devices.
Passkeys offer an alternative way of signing in by using a fingerprint, face scan or screen lock pin.
Intercede shares added 10.1 per cent, or 17.5p, to 191p.
The price of bitcoin has plunged 12 per cent in the past month. The world’s largest crypto-currency is valued at more than £45,000 but remains a far cry from reaching some analysts’ predictions of £116,000 by the end of this year.
Gold prices dipped after hitting an all-time high last week.
The precious metal rose above £1,930 an ounce for the first time on Friday as demand surged from renewed hopes over US interest rate cuts next month. But it slipped 0.6 per cent to around £1,927 an ounce yesterday.
Mining stocks rallied on the back of higher metal prices. Glencore gained 2.8 per cent, or 11.35p, to 415.2p, Anglo American added 2.3 per cent, or 49.5p, to 2,235p and Rio Tinto rose 1.7 per cent, or 82.5p, to 4,824.5p. Fevertree shrugged off concerns over its outlook.
Deutsche Bank Research warned the tonic maker’s stock will struggle in the short-term due to a downturn in the global spirits market. Shares edged up 2 per cent, or 17.5p, to 912.5p.
Mobico, the owner of National Express, is gearing up to publish its half-year results tomorrow.
The company will be hoping to report higher passenger numbers and more than £1.57billion of revenue it made in the first six months of 2023. Shares, which have fallen by a third this year, gained 1.2 per cent, or 0.7p, to 58p.
Recruiter Hays will also shed light on its trading in a 12-month update on Thursday. Hays last month warned its annual profit would come in at the lower end of market forecasts at around £105million. Shares edged up 0.8 per cent, or 0.75p, to 95p.
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