FTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders subside on weak construction report

The FTSE 100 was back in the red on Wednesday afternoon, led by ITV and a fall from the larger housebuilding companies.

ITV was one of the biggest losers of the day, even as the commercial broadcaster reported a surge in underlying pre-tax profits, which were up 18% to £843m. While the network was upbeat about a blockbuster summer, in which it will broadcast the Euro 2016 tournament, viewing figures continued to decline as the traditional linear broadcasters lost out to online services such at Netflix. ITV also said it expected advertising revenues to fall in the first quarter.

Housebuilders Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Berkeley Group were down on the back of a weak construction purchasing managers’ survey in the morning, which was lower than forecasts predicted.

Markit, which compiled the data, said it pointed to one of the weakest rises in construction output seen over the past two-and-a-half years. Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at IHS Global Insight, added: “There are some positives for the construction sector going forward, but it is clearly vulnerable to confidence among clients being pressurized by heightened UK and global economic uncertainties."

Shares in safety tester and certifier Intertek swung into the red along with its bottom line, after booking a £577m impairment charge in its industry services division as a result of challenging trading in the oil and gas sector. The company posted a statutory loss of £307.7m in the 2015 calendar year, and even though Intertek's other divisions were performing well, the firm's board was less than upbeat about ongoing prospects in oil and gas.

Miner Antofagasta was one of the stronger risers, as copper prices reached their highest level in more than three months. The metal was up 1.55% on the London Metal Exchange, hitting $4,789 per tonne, while prices in Shanghai were up 2.7% to CNY 36,820 per tonne. The Chilean miner's assets are primarily focused in copper, with recent uncertainty in China pushing the commodity's prices down. Rio Tinto was also rising Wednesday with copper prices.

High street icon Sports Direct was also ascending, with investors apparently hoping the retailer's relegation from the top index would kick it towards a turnaround. The company had lost £1.6bn in value since the Guardian began publishing evidence of sub-par employee treatment at the firm in December, and on Tuesday it was revealed the company was facing a demotion from the FTSE 100.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 452.85p 4.84%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 509.50p 3.89%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 255.60p 3.40%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 423.10p 3.12%
Anglo American (AAL) 506.40p 3.07%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 762.60p 3.00%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,870.00p 2.44%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 1,986.00p 2.37%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 470.45p 2.06%
Capita (CPI) 1,022.00p 1.59%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

ITV (ITV) 237.70p -4.77%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,875.00p -4.29%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,745.00p -3.86%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,149.00p -2.94%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 182.00p -2.78%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,498.00p -2.67%
BT Group (BT.A) 483.05p -2.61%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 579.00p -2.61%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,356.00p -2.58%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,165.00p -2.50%