London open: Housebuilders pace gains as inflation eases more than expected

London stocks rallied in early trade on Wednesday, with housebuilders pacing the gains after data showed a bigger-than-expected decline in consumer price inflation, easing pressure on the Bank of England to keep hiking rates.

At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 1.2% at 7,544.84, while sterling was down 0.7% against the dollar at 1.2950.

A weaker pound tends to lift the top-flight index, as around 70% of its constituents derive their earnings from overseas.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that consumer price inflation fell to 7.9% in the year to June from 8.7% in May. This was the lowest reading since March 2022 and below analysts’ expectations of 8.2%, but remains well above the Bank's 2% target.

Meanwhile core inflation - which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco - fell to 6.9% from 7.1%, versus expectations for it to remain unchanged.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said the fall in CPI is a "probably a huge relief for Threadneedle St".

He added: "Core inflation was also down. It doesn’t really matter too much what the finer details are and what the actual number is as far as markets are concerned, it’s all about the direction; and it’s going the right way."

In equity markets, Persimmon, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley, Redrow and Crest Nicholson all jumped. Property stocks Derwent and Great Portland also gained.

Hargreaves Lansdown was in the black after a well-received trading statement, while luxury car maker Aston Martin was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

On the downside, Chilean copper miner Antofagasta fell as it cut its full-year production forecast.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,544.84 1.22%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,079.21 2.48%
techMARK (TASX) 4,428.22 1.41%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Persimmon (PSN) 1,158.00p 6.04%
SEGRO (SGRO) 783.80p 5.46%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 446.20p 5.16%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 114.40p 5.05%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 880.60p 4.81%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 643.80p 4.79%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 235.90p 4.10%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,250.00p 3.94%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,162.00p 3.89%
Unite Group (UTG) 950.50p 3.65%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

WPP (WPP) 853.20p -2.36%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,475.00p -2.12%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 686.40p -0.75%
Glencore (GLEN) 451.65p -0.52%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,087.00p -0.45%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,812.50p -0.44%
Fresnillo (FRES) 626.80p -0.29%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,312.00p 0.04%
IMI (IMI) 1,607.00p 0.06%
Prudential (PRU) 1,077.50p 0.23%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Redrow (RDW) 504.50p 7.98%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,198.00p 7.64%
Great Portland Estates (GPE) 429.80p 6.70%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 96.40p 6.64%
Balanced Commercial Property Trust Limited (BCPT) 71.60p 6.39%
Warehouse Reit (WHR) 87.60p 6.18%
Urban Logistics Reit (SHED) 123.60p 6.00%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 205.40p 5.99%
Workspace Group (WKP) 507.50p 5.86%
Molten Ventures (GROW) 275.20p 5.85%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 2,465.00p -0.60%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,495.00p 0.00%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 829.00p 0.00%
Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ) 183.40p 0.00%
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 278.00p 0.00%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 385.60p 0.05%
Softcat (SCT) 1,454.00p 0.07%
JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 824.00p 0.24%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,712.00p 0.27%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 615.00p 0.33%