Sector movers: Banks and housebuilders rebound

Banks and financial services stocks rebounded on Thursday as the market enjoyed a respite from worries about Brexit.

Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland were the biggest risers among banks following a sell-off on Wednesday. Among financials, Provident Financial and Schroders gained.

Housebuilders and real estate companies also reversed Wednesday’s declines with Taylor Wimpey, British Land and Land Securities in the black after a better-than-expected rise in the Halifax house price index in June.

“A better than expected rise in the Halifax house price index in June, along with recent fairly upbeat comments from Persimmon yesterday has seen share prices in the sector rally after three days of losses, with Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey also gaining, though the failure to close near the highest levels of the day suggests that the rebound may not be on the firmest of foundations,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Miners were under the cosh, snapping the previous day’s rally, as metal prices fell. Randgold Resources and Fresnillo led the declines on the FTSE 100 while Hochschild Mining and Centamin were the biggest fallers on the FTSE 250.