FTSE 100 rises despite housebuilders’ fears over new tax – London Report
George Osborne’s announcement yesterday that he plans to raise property tax for those who buy a house in order to rent it and on second homes curtailed hefty gains made by housebuilders.
However, in general, investors signalled their approval of the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, with the blue-chip FTSE 100 index finishing one per cent higher at 6,337.64 points after rising to 6,348.05 earlier in the day.
The Thomson Reuters UK homebuilding index, which surged nearly six per cent before Osborne’s statement, ended 2.8 per cent higher.
Shares in Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Barratt Developments and Berkeley Group were up 1.3 to 3.6 per cent, but off intraday highs.
The travel and leisure sector, under pressure from growing tensions in the Middle East, was pushed higher by a rally in mid-cap Thomas Cook’s shares. The holiday company soared 10.8 per cent after reporting results in line with expectations and saying it was confident in its outlook for 2016, despite cancelled holidays in Egypt.