London close: Stocks flat as investors assess Budget impact

(Sharecast News) - UK stocks finished flat on Thursday after a day of rangebound trading as investors continued to digest details in the Autumn Budget, with trading volumes low as US markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The FTSE 100 finished just a couple of points higher at 9,693.93 (+0.02%), after swinging between gains and losses for most of the session. Nevertheless, this was still the benchmark's highest finish since 14 November.

"UK assets continue to hold up well in the wake of the Budget, with the FTSE 100's session lead by Persimmon and a host of banks also gaining," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

"The day has been one of drift for global indices without US liquidity, but the rebound from last week's lows remains intact. Once more stock markets have avoided significant downside, continuing the theme of the last six months, namely a rally that no one quite trusts, but one they can't ignore."

Persimmon, banks prop up blue chips

Housebuilder Persimmon was the highest riser of the day, extending its recent gains as investors breathed a collective sigh of relief that the Budget contained no major surprises for the housing market.

Similarly, banking stocks including Lloyds, Natwest and Barclays were also rising strongly, with the sector having escaped further taxes rumoured in the lead up to the Budget.

Wealth manager St James's Place was also up, having surged on Wednesday after chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed a stamp duty holiday for newly-listed London shares and ISA reforms to encourage investment in UK equities, as well as plans for new investing hubs.

Imperial Brands, 3i Group and LondonMetric all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

On the FTSE 250, Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo owner Rank Group tumbled 9% after saying that the changes to gambling taxes announced in the Budget would dent annual operating profit by around �40m before mitigation.

In contrast, gambling services provider Playtech rebounded, with the stock rising 9% after reassuring investors that it would meet full-year expectations despite rises in online gaming duty as part of the Budget.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,693.93 0.02%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,091.47 0.94%

techMARK (TASX) 5,564.43 0.30%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Persimmon (PSN) 1,342.00p 3.11%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 96.60p 2.99%

Centrica (CNA) 170.70p 2.83%

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 632.40p 2.26%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 15,460.00p 2.21%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,388.00p 1.98%

Glencore (GLEN) 356.70p 1.90%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 350.00p 1.69%

Barclays (BARC) 429.95p 1.66%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,786.00p 1.61%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,169.00p -2.38%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,200.00p -2.35%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,355.00p -1.94%

3i Group (III) 3,196.00p -1.54%

LondonMetric Property (LMP) 187.60p -1.47%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,690.00p -1.39%

BP (BP.) 446.85p -1.29%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 605.00p -1.22%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,057.00p -1.21%

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 19,540.00p -1.11%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Playtech (PTEC) 278.50p 8.58%

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 455.60p 7.05%

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 481.40p 4.79%

Pennon Group (PNN) 552.00p 4.45%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 62.65p 3.90%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 350.20p 3.73%

Genus (GNS) 2,595.00p 3.59%

Travis Perkins (TPK) 626.00p 3.56%

Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 736.00p 3.30%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 332.20p 3.30%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Rank Group (RNK) 107.00p -9.32%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 180.60p -5.45%

Unite Group (UTG) 526.50p -3.48%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 288.50p -3.03%

Empiric Student Property (ESP) 75.00p -1.32%

Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 111.40p -1.24%

Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,598.00p -1.11%

Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,944.00p -1.02%

Smithson Investment Trust (SSON) 1,582.00p -1.00%

AVI Global Trust (AGT) 252.50p -0.98%