Sector movers: Homebuilders and miners pace gains

Miners were among the best performers on the FTSE 350 at the start of the week, helped by the release of better-than-expected credit and lending figures out of the People's Republic of China.

The country's central bank announced that aggregate financing jumped to reach 3.12bn yuan in August, up from 528bn yuan in the month before (consensus: 2.69bn yuan).

New yuan loans also printed ahead of economists' forecasts, coming in at 1.36bn yuan, versus 346bn yuan in July (consensus: 1.25bn yuan).

Nonetheless, in a research note sent to clients, economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "The big picture, however, is that policymakers aren’t panicking over the state of the economy and are prepared for a drawn-out “tortuous” recovery.

"This means the policy approach will continue to be reactive and calibrated towards attaining a modest "about 5%" GDP growth target."

Household Goods and Home Construction shares also fared well, buoyed by speculation that both parties might soon unveil measures to help first time buyers.

Top performing sectors so far today

Automobiles & Parts 1,897.71 +3.40%

Industrial Metals & Mining 6,231.02 +2.71%

Household Goods & Home Construction 10,697.03 +2.59%

Telecommunications Service Providers 1,948.89 +1.93%

Tobacco 29,025.26 +1.54%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 20,349.86 -1.55%

Chemicals 9,538.11 -1.23%

Retailers 3,550.63 -1.22%

Beverages 24,711.08 -0.64%

Industrial Transportation 3,737.08 -0.57%