FTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders tumble; Intertek rallies

London’s FTSE 100 was down 1.8% at 7,620.22 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Housebuilders were under the cosh after a higher-than-expected UK inflation print raised expectations for another rate hike. Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Berkeley were all down.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that consumer price inflation fell less than expected in April, while food prices remained near record highs.

Aviva was under the cosh after a first-quarter update and following reports that activist investor Cevian Capital has ditched almost its entire stake in the insurer.

On the upside, online supermarket Ocado was the standout performer on the index, perhaps on the back of an encouraging update from JV partner Marks & Spencer.

Intertek gained after the testing company held annual guidance as revenues rose 11% in the first four months of the year.

SSE advanced as it reported a rise in full-year profit and announced plans to invest up to £40bn over the next decade on clean energy projects.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 429.30p 6.63%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,300.00p 2.58%
Fresnillo (FRES) 665.00p 1.37%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 468.10p 0.52%
SSE (SSE) 1,870.50p 0.05%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,301.00p 0.04%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,024.00p 0.00%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 277.30p -0.25%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 476.10p -0.38%
Bunzl (BNZL) 3,094.00p -0.39%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Prudential (PRU) 1,103.50p -5.76%
Aviva (AV.) 400.50p -5.50%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,215.50p -5.48%
Informa (INF) 688.80p -5.28%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 116.60p -5.28%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 470.10p -5.01%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 554.60p -4.64%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,017.00p -4.47%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,219.00p -3.94%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 228.60p -3.75%