FTSE 100 advances as banks and home builders soar Business News

London’s FTSE 100 edged higher on Monday, supported by shares of banks and homebuilders, as data points to a surge in house prices.

The FTSE 100 blue chip closed eight points at 7,077, with bank stocks including Barclays PLC, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC Holdings among the top winners. The domestically focused FTSE 250 also rose 75 points to close at 22,908.

The more than 1.8 percent rise in the homebuilders sector came as the Halifax Price Index showed the average UK home became around £ 22,000 more expensive than it a year ago, reaching an all-time high. However, office space provider IWG fell to its lowest level in four months after issuing a profit warning.

Across the pond, US stocks had a mixed close after the major indices fell, although they recovered from the day’s lows by the end of the session. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% after the materials sector weighed on the market, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.5% on gains from biopharmaceutical company Biogen.

The mixed demise in US stocks weighed on Asian markets on Tuesday morning. Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened lower, deepening its mid-hour losses by 0.2% after the Japanese economy fell 3.9% on an annualized basis in January-March.

South Korea’s Kospi was trading almost flat around noon. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, however, rose in the opening after falling on Monday, but was quickly weighed down to lose 0.3%. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%.

Indian indices were trading lower on Tuesday, dragged down by mixed global indices and losses in banking and financial stocks. Mumbai’s Sensex opened flat but fell 0.3% in the opening minutes. The Nifty 50, which broke the 15,750 mark on Monday, fell 0.4% in the first hour.