London close: Stocks finish higher as housebuilders rally

London stocks finished higher on Friday, supported by a pick-up in housebuilders as Brexit fears eased.

Housebuilders were among the biggest risers on the FTSE 100 including Berkeley Group, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon as it emerged bookies have cut the odds on Britain voting to remain in the European Union, suggesting the 'Remain' campaign was gaining traction.

Coca-Cola HBC also rallied as Citigroup raised its rating on the stock to ‘buy’, as shares trade on a five-year peak discount to peers.

Shire advanced after JPMorgan raised its target price to 5,600p from 5,300p and added the drugmaker to the ‘Analyst Focus List’, saying the acquisition of US-based Baxalta builds a more sustainable company trading at a compelling valuation.

Going the other way, Riverstone Energy slid after the investment company said its first quarter net asset value fell to $1.33bn from $1.34bn at the end of 2015.

Meanwhile, oil prices wavered with Brent crude flat at $48.81 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude down 0.06% to $48.64 per barrel at 1701 BST. However, prices remained on track for weekly gains as the global supply glut eased due to a series of production outages in Nigeria, Canada and Libya.

In economic data, the CBI industrial order expectations hit a four-month-high of -8 in May against forecasts for -13 and compared to the previous month’s -11.

“May’s CBI Industrial Trends Survey suggests that the downturn in the manufacturing sector is relenting,” said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

“The manufacturing sector, however, is unlikely to see sustained growth soon. Sterling will appreciate and export orders will fall if, as we expect, the UK votes to remain in the European Union in June.”

Stateside, sales of existing US homes rose 1.7% in April to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.45m from an upwardly-revised 5.36m the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors. The jump was bigger than the 1.2% increase analysts had pencilled in.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,156.32 1.70%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,922.06 1.15%
techMARK (TASX) 3,069.16 1.41%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,366.00p 6.22%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,268.00p 4.61%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,280.00p 4.09%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 580.50p 3.94%
Anglo American (AAL) 600.30p 3.63%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,203.00p 3.59%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 205.00p 3.59%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 260.60p 3.45%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,860.00p 3.22%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,090.00p 3.11%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,875.00p -0.69%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,873.00p -0.27%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 480.10p -0.08%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,030.00p -0.08%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 515.00p -0.00%
Next (NXT) 5,330.00p 0.00%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 817.90p 0.39%
Glencore (GLEN) 128.65p 0.43%
Experian (EXPN) 1,263.00p 0.48%
Royal Mail (RMG) 491.20p 0.57%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ladbrokes (LAD) 127.20p 6.44%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,292.00p 5.47%
Henderson Group (HGG) 259.10p 5.37%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 351.00p 4.65%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 232.00p 4.41%
Pendragon (PDG) 38.00p 4.11%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 990.00p 4.10%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 580.50p 4.03%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 112.10p 3.89%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 269.60p 3.89%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Allied Minds (ALM) 336.30p -4.22%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,540.00p -3.99%
Spectris (SXS) 1,700.00p -3.95%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 114.50p -3.70%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,253.00p -2.68%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 850.00p -2.52%
AO World (AO.) 169.50p -1.80%
John Laing Infrastructure Fund Ltd (JLIF) 120.90p -1.71%
Genus (GNS) 1,543.00p -1.66%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 147.20p -1.60%