Following Monday’s disappointing turn, UK stocks have picked up on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 rising 0.5% to 7,106.
“Investors bid up shares in tobacco sellers, banks and telecoms, while there was mixed appetite for miners with Rio Tinto and Glencore among the biggest contributors to the index in points terms, while Anglo American was the biggest detractor,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Housebuilders were also in demand after new figures from Nationwide revealed that UK house prices grew at their fastest annual pace for more than 17 years in June, up 13.4%.
“Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Barratt Developments were among the top risers as investors hoped the frantic activity in the UK property market would benefit their earnings,” said Mould.
“The key issue is whether we’re at the peak of the activity as buyers rush to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday which starts to taper from the start of July.”
“However, with so many properties being snapped up fast, there could be many potential buyers waiting in the wings for the market to calm down a bit – suggesting that we may not see a massive crash once the stamp duty holiday comes to an end on 30 September.”
FTSE 100 Top Movers
Barclays (2.13%), Persimmon (1.62%) and Legal and General (1.61%) headed up the FTSE 100 during the morning session on Tuesday.
At the other end of the UK index, United Utilities Group (-1.8%), Polymetal International (-1.72%) and Anglo American (-1.52%) have lost the most ground so far today.