MARKET REPORT: Brickmaker shares rise as Labour pledges new housing

As the Labour government pledged to build a substantial amount of housing, investors looked past brickmaker Ibstock’s poor first-half results and bought shares in the hope of a windfall.

Ibstock had a difficult first half as high mortgage rates kept the housing market challenging.

First-half profits fell more than 60 percent, while revenues declined 20 percent.

This prompted Ibstock to more than halve its interim dividend. But management remains confident that its construction products will benefit from rising demand, and the shares rose 4.3 per cent, or 7.4 pence, to 179.6 pence.

Housebuilders were also in demand on hopes of a boost to construction, helped by data showing UK house prices rose to the highest level in six months in July.

Persimmon rose 2.5 per cent, or 37 pence, to 1,538.5 pence, and Barratt Developments rose 1.7 per cent, or 8.8 pence, to 521 pence.

As the recovery from the recent mini-global crisis continued, the FTSE 100 rose 1.75 per cent, or 140.19 points, to 8,168.24, while the FTSE 250 advanced 1.02 per cent, or 208.33 points, to 20,576.03.

Banks were among the biggest gainers as global markets recovered, with Standard Chartered up 2.8 percent, or 19.2 pence, to 706.2 pence, NatWest advancing 3.6 percent, or 11.6 pence, to 334.6 pence, and Lloyds rising 3.3 percent, or 1.84 pence, to 57 pence.

Still in financial services, Legal & General added 1.3 per cent, or 2.8 pence, to 219.5 pence as the life and pensions group posted interim profits that beat analysts’ forecasts, results boosted by higher annuity sales.

Asset manager Quilter rose 4.6 percent, or 5.9 pence, to 133.4 pence after its half-year profit also beat forecasts and it posted higher net cash inflows.

And inter-dealer broker TP ICAP rose 7.8 percent, or 16.5 pence, to close at 227.5 pence after a jump in first-half profits as it considers a US listing for its data and analytics business.

Leaving aside financial data, Tullow Oil rose 0.9 percent, or 0.24 pence, to 27.68 pence as the oil and gas explorer saw its first-half profit rise despite revenue falling.

And Tritax Big Box REIT added 1.6 percent, or 2.6 pence, to 162.1 pence as it revealed plans to sell its controlling stake in marketing firm FGS Global to KKR.

Soft drinks bottler Coca-Cola HBC fell 1.5 percent, or 42 pence, to 2,698 pence after higher finance costs outweighed a rise in its full-year forecasts after it posted a rise in first-half revenue.

And 4imprint fell 2.3 per cent, or 130p, to 5,490p as first-half demand at the promotional products marketer and distributor missed expectations.

Among small caps, Mast Energy rose 31 per cent, or 0.05 pence, to 0.19 pence as its first refurbished generator set turned a profit in its first month of operation.

And Samuel Heath gained 12.1 per cent, or 35p, to 325p after the shower and bath fittings maker said its half-year revenue had risen.

But Botswana Diamonds fell 18.8 per cent, or 0.07 pence, to 0.33 pence as the Africa-focused explorer raised £250,000 through a placing – the money will be used to fund exploration activities.