The latest house price surveys from Halifax and Nationwide ? two of the UK's largest mortgage lenders ? should have investors in developers breaking out the champagne, yet stocks such as Persimmon (PSN) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.) have gone nowhere for the last few weeks while Barratt Redrow (BTRW) shares are hitting three-month lows.Uncertainty ahead of the autumn budget and over the pace of interest

European stocks were mixed on Wednesday morning, with the FTSE 100 trading resiliently, after China announced it will hold a fiscal policy-focused conference this weekend amid a backdrop of investor nerves for the Asian economy.The FTSE 100 index was up 38.24 points, 0.5%, at 8,228.85.London's powerhouse listings AstraZeneca, Shell and Unilever were all in the green in early trade, aiding the FTSE

Build costs miscalculated by 10%Profit cut by £80 million this yearShares fall 35% as market opensShareholders in housebuilder Vistry (VTY) could be forgiven for thinking they were having a nightmare after the firm unexpectedly took the axe to its profit forecasts for this year, next year and the year after due to understated build costs on a small number of its developments.The shares, which had

European shares went into reverse early Tuesday, as the lack of new stimulus in China disappointed the market, while the story in London was Vistry, which slumped by a third after a profit warning.'Having persuaded a sceptical audience that it was managing the transition from mainstream to partnership housebuilder, and outperformed the sector by over 30% in the last twelve months, Vistry now has t

On 17 July, Sir Keir Starmer's new Labour government announced its plans for the first year of the new parliament, with growth and wealth creation the priority.King Charles' speech at the State Opening of Parliament included a total of 39 bills under a new legislative agenda which includes speeding up the delivery of 'high-quality infrastructure and housing' and nationalising railway operators.Sta

For readers who may not be aware, being market-cap weighted both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 index are reviewed and rebalanced every three months to take account of share price movements.In the previous review, which took place at the end of February, budget airline group EasyJet (EZJ) won promotion to the FTSE 100 while precious metals group Endeavour Mining (EDV) was relegated to the FTSE 250

Stock prices in London were in the red on Tuesday morning, as non-food sales in the UK remained in decline, while retail sales edged up only mildly in May.The FTSE 100 index opened down 31.15 points, or 0.4%, at 8,229.30. The FTSE 250 was down 105.98 points, or 0.5%, at 20,794.74, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.27 points, or 0.2%, at 803.84.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 821.19, the Cboe UK 25

Vistry CEO shows confidence with latest buyTracsis director snaps up over £33,000 sharesChurchill China director sells up after flat full year revenuesVISTRY CEO BUYS OVER 23,000 SHARESGreg Fitzgerald, CEO of UK housebuilder Vistry (VTY) has bought 23,172 shares at £11.80 for a total value of £273,545.46 on 29 April.Fitzgerald?s move can be seen as a vote of confidence in the housebuilder after

Fund outperforms benchmark in 2023Dividend increases by 7% to 7.65pShares sit at 13% discount to NAVMid- and small-cap UK growth investor Mercantile Investment Trust (MRC) outperformed its benchmark in the year to 31 January, delivering a net asset total return of 4.5% and total shareholder returns of 6.1%.The dividend was increased by 7% for the year to 7.65p per share, comfortably covered by rev

Whenever there is a discussion about ?quality? UK industrial stocks, the name Spectris (SXS) is often thrown into the ring although we suspect many investors, while being familiar with the company in a general sense, have little idea what it actually does.Looking on Stockopedia, the company has a 99th percentile quality ranking, which backs up its reputation, but it is classified as a large-cap te

Full year profit ahead of guidanceNew £100 million buybackTarget of £800 million operating profitShares in Vistry (VTY) jumped 5% to a new two-year high after the housebuilder delivered better than expected annual profit and provided an upbeat outlook, supported by a new £100 million share buyback.The shares have gained 30% so far in 2024 compared with a 0.4% rise for the mid-cap FTSE 250 inde

No-one could accuse the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) of sitting on its hands, least of all this year.As well as investigating several high-profile mergers ? including this month alone Aviva (AV.)/AIG Life, SpreadEx/Sporting Image, RedBird IMI/Telegraph Media Group, Pharmacy2U/Lloyds Direct and Hitachi/Thales ? the regulator has been busy looking into pricing in the funeral market (again

Revenues fall 20% Profits down over 40%Company cooperating with CMAShares in Taylor Wimpey (TW.) were down over 3% to 135p in morning trading as the UK housebuilder said pre-tax profit had fallen 42.8% to £473.8 million for the year to 31 December compared to £827.9 million in the same year ago period.The company?s share price performance today contrasts with a 10% gain over the past year.

Buybacks are heavily in fashion with UK companies right now. The latest names to declare sizeable share buybacks include Barclays (BARC) and InterContinental Hotels (IHG), which between them plan to repurchase more than £1.5 billion worth of stock this year. Notably, Shell (SHEL), which cut its dividend for the first time since the Second World War in 2020, has shifted towards large buybacks in r

Prices are turning positive againLower mortgage rates helpingActivity seen picking up this yearHousebuilders and housing-related stocks got a lift going into the Bank of England?s monetary policy meeting thanks to a positive read on the property market from the latest Nationwide house price survey.Shares in Barratt Developments (BDEV), Crest Nicholson (CRST), Persimmon (PSN), Redrow (RDW), Rightmo

Vistry CEO snaps up nearly £100,000 sharesTen Lifestyle CEO Alex Cheatle sellsBig Technologies CEO Sara Murray builds up stakeGreg Fitzgerald CEO of housebuilder Vistry (VTY) has bought 10,525 shares at 943p for a total value of £99,247 on 22 January.Fitzgerald?s move could be seen by investors as 'smart' after its Countryside Partnerships subsidiary was recently chosen as the preferred develope

Persimmon raises completions targetPartnership deals pave the wayAverage house prices turning upA positive third-quarter trading update and evidence of a bounce in house prices helped lift shares in Persimmon (PSN) and other developers from their recent lows.Persimmon added 2.5% to £11.09 while rivals Barratt Developments (BDEV) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.) gained around 1.5% apiece. HIGHER FUL

Keller performs ahead of expectationsVistry sees no recovery in private salesShares top and tail the mid-cap indexThere was mixed news from the construction sector, with groundworks specialist Keller (KLR) delivering a surprise upgrade to its full-year earnings forecast after third-quarter trading exceeded its forecasts while housebuilder Vistry (VTY) issued a downbeat statement saying the usual s

UK is the best performing major market this monthFTSE 100 aided by big oil-price gains and weak poundFTSE 250 flat on the monthFor most major markets September has been something of a washout with the S&P 500 index losing 4%, the Nasdaq 100 off 4.5% and Germany's DAX down 3%.A key driver of weakness has been the relentless rise in bond yields, which hit their highest levels since 2007 in the US wi

Stocks in London closed higher on Wednesday, as UK consumer price index inflation cooled by more than expected in August.The mood was also optimistic ahead of interest rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.The FTSE 100 index closed up 71.45 points, 0.9%, at 7,731.65. The FTSE 250 ended up 285.67 points, 1.6%, at 18,712.37, and AIM All-Share closed up 4.29 points, 0.6%,