MARKET REPORT: Green shoots of recovery boost Persimmon shares

Shares in Persimmon rose after pointing to green shoots of recovery in the housing market after a sharp slowdown.

The FTSE 100 firm, one of the country’s largest builders, said the pace at which it sold homes improved during the first three months of the year.

If this continues, it will build nearly 9,000 homes by 2023 – at the high end of the 8,000 to 9,000 range it predicted last month.

However, it would be a far cry from the 14,868 built in 2022, with sales well below year-ago levels and cancellations up.

In the first quarter, new home sales fell 42 percent from a year earlier, to 1,136, as rising interest rates and concerns about the economy hit demand.

Shares rose 4.9 percent, or 60.5 pence, to 1296.5 pence, even though the company said sales to first-time buyers remained “challenging” due to limited affordability and reduced availability of mortgages.

Chief Executive Officer Dean Finch said: “Trading in recent weeks has shown some signs of encouragement with visitor numbers rising, cancellation levels normalizing and sales continuing the steady improvement since the start of the year.”

The update lifted the industry, which took a hit from the turmoil caused by the mini-Budget last September.

Taylor Wimpey rose 3.7 percent, or 4.5p, to 125.6p, while Barratt Developments added 3 percent, or 14.3p, to 495p and Berkeley Group rose 1 percent, or 44p, to 4396p.

Among mid-caps, Crest Nicholson gained 7 percent, or 17.6p, to 270p, Redrow was up 4.2 percent, or 20.7p, to 512.5p, Bellway was up 3.8 percent, or 88p, to 2400p and Vistry added 3.3. percent, or 25p, to 778p.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.49 percent, or 38.49 points, to 7852.64 and the FTSE 250 fell 0.04 percent, or 7.42 points, to 19,207.97.

Carnival fell 3.3 percent, or 22 pence, to 636.4 pence after Morgan Stanley lowered the cruise line’s price target from 600 pence to 570 pence.

Stock watch – Trifast

Trifast said earnings are higher than expected, but still lower than previously hoped.

The company, which makes screws, nuts and bolts, said in February that profit for the year to the end of March would be around £9m – well below the £14.3m expected by analysts.

But it now expects profits to be “marginally higher” than £9m and will also propose an increased final dividend of 1.5p.

Shares rose 12.5 percent, or 7.8 pence, to 70.4 pence.

Man Group posted profits after clients deposited £880 million in funds into the asset manager in the first quarter of 2023.

Assets under management rose 1 percent to £115.7 billion. The stock climbed 3.2 percent, or 7 pence, to 224 pence. Smith & Nephew, the global medical technology company, cashed in on demand for hip and knee implants.

The orthopedics division, which lagged the other divisions, reported a 3.9 per cent increase in sales to £438 million over the three months to April 1. Group sales rose 6.9 per cent to £1.11 billion. Shares rose 1.6 percent, or 20.5p, to 1294.5p.

It was a good day for Standard Chartered after the London-listed bank posted its biggest quarterly profit since 2014: £1.44 billion, beating market expectations of £1.12 billion. Shares rose 2.2 percent, or 13.4 pence, to 634 pence.

CRH, which makes about three-quarters of its profits in North America, will continue to move its listing from London to New York by seeking shareholder approval at a meeting on June 8.

The building materials giant said sales and profits in the first half should be higher than the same period in 2022. Shares fell 3.3 percent, or 132p, to 3890p.

Bunzl, which provides products such as paper napkins and latex gloves, said acquisitions this year should help generate slightly higher revenues.

Turnover increased by 1.2 percent in the first quarter and has agreed to the acquisition of Dimasa, which distributes cleaning and hygiene products in Spain. It fell 1.6 percent, or 51 pence, to 3151 pence.

At Fresnillo — up 0.2 percent, or 1.6 pence, to 734.6 pence — the Mexican miner reported higher silver and gold production during the first three months of the year following higher production.