Sector Movers: Construction, personal goods and banks edge FTSE 100 back above 7,000 points

At 15:49 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading up 1.09% or 75.65 points at 7013.06, with the personal goods index, which includes fashion retailer Burberry, up 1.66% or 1.57.42 points to 9926.60.

Burberry shares (up 2.85%) were among the day’s top gainers following speculation that the luxury fashion house could attract the attention of a US rival or cash-rich private equity groups. The chatter, which was reported by The Daily Mail, comes before Burberry reports 2015 sales figures next Wednesday.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the general election failed to dampen spirits in the construction sector, with Halifax reporting a rise in house prices for March. CRH (up 2.74%) and Keller Group (up 3.17%), along with over a dozen sector participants including Balfour Beatty, traded in the green. Unsurprisingly, market leading housebuilder Persimmon (up 2.86%) finished in the FTSE 100’s top five.

Telecommunications shares also had a strong showing on enhanced prospects of better yields with BT (up 1.82%), Manx (up 1.94%), TalkTalk (up 1.43%) and Cable & Wireless (0.85%) all in the green.

Despite a string of mixed news, banking and financial services sector stocks posted gains late in to the trading session.

Analysts at Investec lowered their view on shares in Lloyds (down 0.20%) to ‘hold’ from ‘buy.’ They stated that were "really quite positive" about the operational outlook for the lender. Nevertheless, the possibility of a raft of negative one-offs, a dose of pre-election jitters and the fact the shares are at 12-month highs drove their decision. Meanwhile, Barclays (up 0.61%) got a vote of confidence from analysts at Societe Generale.

Meanwhile, the Swiss private banking arm of HSBC has been placed under a formal criminal investigation by French magistrates over alleged tax-related offences.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, the bank said the formal criminal investigation had been initiated in connection with the conduct of its Swiss Private Bank in 2006 and 2007 for alleged tax-related offences.

A massive €1bn bail was also slapped on the bank. Commenting on the legal notice, HSBC said: “The French magistrates' decision is without legal basis and the bail is unwarranted and excessive.” The company intends to defend its position.

HSBC's shares did not react negatively to the news trading up 2.90% or 17.00p at 604.00p at 16:39 BST on a good day for financial stocks.

Top Five Sectors:

Construction & Materials 4772.72 +120.72 +2.60%
Telecommunications 5159.82 +95.16 +1.88%
Financial Services 9926.60 +157.42 +1.61%
Personal Goods 27,374.42 +447.45 +1.66%
Banks 4472.08 +64.26 +1.46%