Shares on the move as housing freeze thaws MARKET REPORT

IT WAS a rollercoaster day for estate agencies and builders in England as the Government lifted restrictions that brought the housing market to a standstill.

As of yesterday, viewings can be carried out, estate agents can open again and removal firms and conveyancers can return to work – provided they follow social distancing protocols.

It is estimated 450,000 buyers and renters had put moving plans on hold since the Government introduced the previous ‘stay home’ advice. Now, the housing industry south of the Border believes there is huge demand after effectively freezing the market for almost two months.

Others worry that people’s finances are more fragile than before the crisis and that this will put them off big commitments such as moving house.

Investors had similarly mixed feelings. Shares in most major housebuilders and estate agents spiked in early trading but for some this burned off later in the day. Although FTSE 100-listed

Berkeley Group climbed 1.1pc, or 46p, to 4150p, its fellow blue-chip peer Persimmon was down 1.3pc, or 29p, to 2151p and Taylor Wimpey fell 2.7pc, or 3.95p, to 141.9p.

London estate agents Foxtons rose 4.7pc, or 1.9p, to 42.2p, while online group Purplebricks rallied 13.3pc, or 4.5p, to 38.35p.

But Rightmove fell 1pc, or 5p, to 517p, while Savills dipped 0.9pc, or 8.5p, to 943.5p.

UK GDP figures that showed the sharpest contraction since the financial crisis likely washed away some of the optimism about the reopening of the housing market.

The Footsie fell 1.5pc, or 90.72 points, to 5904.05 and the FTSE

250 lost 1.8pc, or 294.92 points, to 15,878.12 after the Office for National Statistics showed GDP output collapsed by 5.8pc in March alone and 2pc in the first three months of the year.

There were, however, a few bright spots on the Footsie.

The UK’s biggest listed technology group, software provider Sage, climbed 1.8pc, or 11.6p, to 666.6p after it reported profits surged 40pc to £275m in the six months to the end of March. It has not had to resort to furloughing any staff or making redundancies at the moment – but said it was beginning to feel the pinch from the coronavirus and finding it harder to sign up new customers.

Plumbing giant Ferguson managed to inch 0.9pc higher, up 56p, to 6024p despite revenue at its UK Wolseley division falling 60pc in April due to lockdown.

And traders cheered as steam and pumps experts Spirax-Sarco

Engineering pledged to pay its dividend and said its business was only slightly disrupted in the first four months of the year, sending it up 2.2pc, or 204p, to 9466p.

Elsewhere, ailing shopping centre landlord Intu Properties shed 5.2pc, or 0.25p, to 4.61p after it completed the sale of its stake in a Spanish shopping mall.

Intu will pocket £203m of the £405m deal, while the rest will go to co-owner the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Eastern European vodka maker

Stock Spirits shot 17.5pc, or 34p, up to 228p, as customers stocked up on drinks ahead of tax hikes in Poland and the Czech Republic – its biggest markets – sending profits 152pc higher to £13m.

Energy group Premier Oil made more modest gains, rising 2.6pc, or 0.69p, to 27.69p, after saying it was in talks to cut the price of a proposed £511m deal to buy some BP assets in the North Sea.

Paving slab supplier Marshalls saw sales fall 27pc in the first four months of the year, with an unsurprising sharp drop in the last week of March and during April. The group, down 2.7pc, or 17p, to 603p, could cut as many as 400 jobs.