FTSE roundup: Easyjet soars while housebuilders (Berkeley) temper blue chip index gains

The FTSE 100 index has ended the day up 0.34 per cent, as Easyjet continued to climb after directors scooped up shares earlier this week.

However the FTSE 100’s close, at 7,164 points, was substantially lower than last Friday’s close of 7224 points.

BP helped to nudge the blue chip index up during the day, as its share price was boosted by rising oil prices. Mining company Glencore was the third biggest riser of the FTSE 100 today, continuing a strong week after better-than-expected economic data from China.

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On the flip-side, housebuilder Berkeley dragged the index down as it warned it couldn’t ramp up production enough to meet demand for new homes. Its share price flopped more than five per cent.

Steel-making company Evraz was also down more than four per cent, as its chief executive and chairman both dumped millions of shares.

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Outside of the UK’s largest companies, electronic trading firm Nex saw its share price pop more than 30 per cent amid takeover talks with exchange titan CME.

Elsewhere in the financial world, the Bank of England warned that “material risks” still remain from Brexit, but assured that the UK’s banking system would be able to cope.

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