Housebuilding stock sell-offs drop Footsie

A drop in profits at Crest Nicholson sparked a sell-off in housebuilding stocks on Tuesday, pushing the FTSE 100 into the red.

London’s blue chip index ended the day down 0.4% or 33.62 points at 7,703.81 points.

Property developers and home builders were among the worst performers, with Barratt Developments falling 18p to 561p, Berkeley Group Holdings down 119p to 4,186p, and Persimmon dropping 70p to 2,790p.

It was sparked by disappointing results from Crest Nicholson, which reported a 2% fall in half-year pre-tax profits to £74.8 million.

The group said margins would also remain under pressure next year, as sales of higher-priced properties are to continue falling.

The FTSE 250-listed housebuilder ended the day down more than 4% or 18.2p at 428p.

Sector peer Bellway tumbled 122p to 3,287p after highlighting signs of a faltering British property market, having confirmed cooling price growth.

The Newcastle-based housebuilder said that, while pricing was generally “firm”, the rate of growth had eased back in 2018.

The French Cac 40 closed lower by nearly 0.4% while the German Dax was flat.

In currency markets, the pound received a late-afternoon boost as Parliament continued to vote on amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill.