Index builds up with houses

Housebuilders led the charge on the London market yesterday as Persimmon brushed aside Brexit uncertainty to book a hefty rise in profits.

The FTSE 100 Index closed 39.97 points higher at 6,868.51 as Persimmon’s shares soared 4%, or 76p, to £18.70.

Investors raced to buy up housing stocks, with Barratt Developments among the biggest risers, rising close to 5%, or 22.7p to 486.2p.

Berkeley Group and Taylor Wimpey were also on the up, climbing 99p to £26.49 and 6.4p to 165.1p respectively.

While housebuilders remain below their preBrexit levels, they have begun to claw back lost ground, boosted in part by the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates from 0.5% to 0.25%, helping keep mortgages affordable.

Grocery giant Tesco rose 6.8p to 166.3p after emerging as the best performer out of the big four grocers in the latest Kantar Worldpanel figures.