MARKET REPORT

A POSITIVE market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors put housebuilders on firmer foundations.

Barratt Developments topped the blue chip gainers board, up 30¼p to 614½p, while Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Group added 2½p to 161p and 53p to 3792p.

Technical products supplier Diploma gained 108p to 1450p after buying Virginia Sealing Products for £56million.

Leisure travel firm Dart Group flew 38p higher to 880p after lifting annual pre-tax profit 36 per cent to £177.5million following strong demand for its Jet2 flights and holiday packages.

Mineral resource company Keras Resources strengthened 0.016p to 0.42p after positive bulk samples, while digital TV services provider Mirada brightened 0.05p to 1p after growing its annual revenue by 40 per cent to $12.32million (£9.8million).