London midday: Housebuilders pace gains after Bellway update

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Tuesday, underpinned by optimism over Sino-US trade talks and strength in the housebuilding sector, as investors mulled the latest UK jobs and retail sales data.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,865.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "US-China trade talks are the main focus for investors as they continue in London after a 'fruitful' session on Monday.

"It's hoped that the deal with see the US ease export restrictions of chips while China will release its rare earth minerals."

On the macro front, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in the three months to April from 4.5% in January to March, marking the highest level since summer 2021.

Meanwhile, growth in average weekly earnings excluding bonuses fell to 5.2% from 5.6%, prompting hopes of further rate cuts from the Bank of England.

The data also showed that the early estimate of payrolled employees for May fell by 109,000 on the month and by 274,000 on the year to 30.2 million.

The estimated number of vacancies fell by 63,000 on the quarter, to 736,000 in March to May 2025. The ONS said this was the 35th consecutive quarterly decline, with quarterly falls seen in 14 out of the 18 industry sectors.

Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: "There continues to be weakening in the labour market, with the number of people on payroll falling notably. Feedback from our vacancies survey suggests some firms may be holding back from recruiting new workers or replacing people when they move on.

"Our survey of businesses shows a stronger picture for Workforce Jobs, but this covers an earlier period, includes people with multiple jobs and can lag our other sources of labour market information.

"Earnings growth has slowed in both cash and real terms, though it remains strong by historic standards. Public sector pay is now growing at a higher rate than wages in the private sector."

Investors were also mulling the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium, which showed that weak discretionary spending held back UK retail sales in May, with year-on-year growth slowing dramatically to the lowest level so far this year.

In equity markets, Bellway rallied as it said trading had been "robust" through the spring selling season and lifted its full-year outlook for completion volumes and average prices.

Other housebuilders followed suit, with Persimmon, Barratt Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley, Vistry and Crest Nicholson all up.

Marks & Spencer was higher as it said it was starting to take some online orders again six weeks after it was rocked by a major cyber attack.

Rolls-Royce rose as it was selected to build small modular nuclear reactors in the UK, after a competition run by the government to reduce Britain's reliance on fossil fuels.

FirstGroup racked up strong gains as the train and bus operator announced a new �50m buyback and said the outlook for the current year remains in line with expectations, though rail results will be lower due to South Western Railway (SWR) transferring into public ownership.

Aberdeen was a high riser after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to 'overweight' and placed it on 'positive catalyst watch'.

On the downside, Hochschild Mining tumbled as it said it expects a "significant reduction" to output guidance at its Mara Rosa gold mine in Brazil due to a processing shutdown caused by heavier-than-usual seasonal rainfall over the past few months and "contractor performance issues".

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,865.10 0.37%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,429.25 0.67%

techMARK (TASX) 5,062.78 -0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Persimmon (PSN) 1,359.00p 4.34%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 467.30p 3.84%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 372.20p 3.45%

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 119.90p 3.05%

SEGRO (SGRO) 702.40p 2.69%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 360.40p 2.50%

Shell (SHEL) 2,556.00p 2.04%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 905.60p 1.96%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,264.00p 1.81%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,664.00p 1.62%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Next (NXT) 12,595.00p -1.91%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,352.00p -1.60%

Kingfisher (KGF) 270.10p -1.57%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,166.00p -1.35%

GSK (GSK) 1,493.00p -1.06%

Barclays (BARC) 328.95p -1.05%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 81.88p -0.87%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,051.00p -0.87%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 76.44p -0.70%

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 523.20p -0.65%

FTSE 250 - Risers

FirstGroup (FGP) 210.40p 8.57%

Abrdn (ABDN) 198.20p 7.72%

Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 672.00p 7.69%

Vistry Group (VTY) 638.60p 6.83%

Bellway (BWY) 2,838.00p 6.13%

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 47.95p 5.62%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 86.15p 4.68%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 77.40p 4.31%

AO World (AO.) 99.20p 4.09%

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 348.40p 4.00%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 239.20p -20.58%

Just Group (JUST) 146.20p -3.94%

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 531.00p -3.45%

Indivior (INDV) 987.50p -2.71%

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 84.00p -2.33%

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 271.80p -1.88%

Senior (SNR) 170.40p -1.73%

Currys (CURY) 120.00p -1.64%

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 48.90p -1.51%

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 677.00p -1.46%