London close: Housebuilders pace decline after Crest Nicholson warning

London stocks closed lower on Monday, with housebuilders pacing the decline after a profit warning from Crest Nicholson.

The FTSE 100 ended down 0.1% at 7,257.82.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "At one point the FTSE100 was posting some solid gains, largely being driven by gains in the energy sector with BP and Shell tracking higher, along with the oil price, however the dissipation of those oil price gains has served to pull the market off the highs of the day, as yields continue to pop higher.

"The US 10-year yield has pushed to its highest level since 2007, while UK gilt yields are also pushing back towards their highs of the month."

Earlier, the People’s Bank of China cut the one-year loan prime rate by 10 basis points to 3.45%, versus consensus expectations of a 15 basis points cut.

Meanwhile, the five-year loan prime rate - which affects mortgage prices - was unexpectedly left unchanged at 4.20%. Analysts had been expecting a 15bps cut, especially after the medium-term loan rate was reduced last week.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, the focus will be on the Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Later this week a flood of PMI data from Europe, the UK and US should provide some insight into the current economic trajectory in the West and serve as an hors d'oeuvre to the main course provided by the Jackson Hole symposium which starts at the end of the week.

"This meeting of finance ministers and central bankers will provide some insight into the thinking of the Bank of England, Federal Reserve and European Central Bank ahead of their next set of meetings this autumn."

On home shores, the latest data from property portal Rightmove showed that house prices fell by 1.9% in August - the biggest decline this year as higher mortgage rates weighed on demand for houses.

In equity markets, housebuilder Crest Nicholson tumbled as it lowered annual profit forecasts after a worsening of the housing market amid rising inflation and interest rates. The company said it expected annual profits to be around £50m in a “challenging” market, down from prior forecasts of £73m, but predicted a fall in interest and inflation rates over the medium term.

Other housebuilders followed suit, with Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Barratt Developments, Berkeley and Redrow all sharply lower.

On the upside, addiction treatment specialist Indivior rallied as it announced that its US division has settled claims made by the end payor class in the Suboxone antitrust litigation. The company said it expected to pay $30m, which would be deducted from a reserved $188m for the litigation.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,257.82 -0.06%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,898.99 -1.09%
techMARK (TASX) 4,183.73 -0.46%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,962.00p 2.21%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,894.00p 1.13%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,384.50p 1.05%
BP (BP.) 478.30p 1.02%
Glencore (GLEN) 420.80p 0.95%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 151.10p 0.94%
Tesco (TSCO) 252.00p 0.92%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 571.20p 0.92%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 220.40p 0.92%
Centrica (CNA) 144.15p 0.70%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 107.80p -4.26%
Persimmon (PSN) 983.00p -3.82%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 734.40p -3.50%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,860.00p -3.28%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 421.70p -2.74%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 570.20p -2.66%
Unite Group (UTG) 887.00p -1.83%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,193.00p -1.67%
Rightmove (RMV) 539.40p -1.57%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 903.00p -1.38%

FTSE 250 - Risers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 87.00p 3.99%
Indivior (INDV) 1,829.00p 3.98%
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 76.20p 2.70%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 245.20p 2.21%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,206.00p 1.29%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,389.00p 1.23%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 2,130.00p 1.19%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 526.00p 1.15%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 197.40p 1.13%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 642.50p 1.02%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 178.70p -8.76%
Future (FUTR) 715.50p -5.92%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 75.00p -5.66%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 357.50p -5.17%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,235.00p -5.13%
Hammerson (HMSO) 24.04p -4.60%
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,170.00p -4.41%
Redrow (RDW) 445.40p -4.34%
OSB Group (OSB) 355.20p -4.05%
Vistry Group (VTY) 692.50p -4.02%