A RECORD jump in house prices lifted Berkeley Group to the top of the biggest risers despite confirmation that the property giant would be demoted from the FTSE 100 Index in the coming weeks.
Shares in Berkeley surged close to three per cent or 77p to 2672p after new research from Nationwide showed house prices ticked up 0.6% month-on-month in August to reach a record average value of £206,145.
But while the higher-than-expected figures helped lift housebuilders across the board, it failed to push the FTSE 100 Index higher, with the top-flight closing down 39.28 points to 6,781.51.
Shares in Barratt Developments climbed 2.1p to 494p and Taylor Wimpey stepped up 0.7p to 161.3p.
The average UK property value rose 5.6% annually, Nationwide Building Society said.
It added that while buyer demand has softened, the number of new homes coming to market has also been low. This has kept the balance of demand and supply tight, which in turn has supported prices.
The data handed a further reprieve to housing stocks which have been punished by investors amid fears the housing market will suffer if the economy takes a turn for the worst following the Brexit vote.
Housebuilders have continued to claw back some lost ground following the EU referendum result, but still remain below their pre-Brexit vote levels.
However, Berkeley Group will be downgraded to the FTSE 250 on September 19 after seeing its stock price plunge around 30% in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
In Europe, Germany's Dax was down 0.6% and the Cac 40 in France dropped 0.4%.
On the currency markets, the pound was up 0.3% against the dollar at 1.1313 US dollars, as sterling found support from the Nationwide data showing a larger-than-expected rise in house prices.
The pound was also up 0.3% against the euro at 1.177 euros.
Oil prices took another tumble, falling 3.1% to 47.23 US dollars a barrel, after data showed a surprise build in American crude inventories.
In UK stocks, London-listed miners continued their lacklustre performance from the previous session, with precious metal stocks taking a hit from the falling gold price.
Gold prices were down 0.2% to 1,309.17 dollars per ounce amid predictions that the US Federal Reserve is on course to raise interest rates.
Fresnillo and Rangold Resources dropped 84p to 1606p and 210p to 7150p respectively.
Anglo American was also down 37.7p to 779.8p, after slipping into negative territory in Tuesday's session when the strengthening dollar and falling copper prices saw investors take flight.
Online gaming firm 888 Holdings notched up gains after a strong Euro 2016 and further expansion into the continent helped it post record revenue for the first half of the year.
The company, which recently pulled out of a joint bid with Rank Group for rival William Hill, said revenue rose 19% to 262 million US dollars (£200 million) in the period, with pre-tax profits climbing 39% to 27.8 million US dollars (£21.2 million).
It said it would continue "appraising strategic M&A opportunities" as it looks for further opportunities to expand. The group hailed a successful Euro 2016, adding that it benefited from launches in Spain, Denmark and Italy.
Shares were up 3p to 218p.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 index were Berkeley Group up 77p to 2672p, TUI group up 24p to 1063p, Tesco up 3.1p to 166.4p, Barclays up 3.1p to 172.3p.
The biggest fallers were Fresnillo down 84p to 1606p, BHP Billiton down 50.6p to 989.9p, Anglo American down 37.7p to 779.8p, Antofagasta down 16.8p to 494.7p.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here