Housebuilders goose London indexes after dodging £4bn cladding bill

Reports of the UK government footing most of the bill for fixing the cladding scandal strengthened sentiment toward London-listed housebuilders today. 

The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index added 0.28 per cent to reach 7,558.92 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 0.53 per cent higher to 21,329.89 points.

UK policymakers have reportedly dropped demands for householders to contribute around £4bn to a cladding remediation fund.

The sector led the day’s gains in London. Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments and Persimmon all rose more than 2.8 per cent.

“Housebuilders have been in the doldrums since the start of the year despite a supercharged housing market as investors priced in the cost of making repairs,” Dannie Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell, said.

Traders during the morning session were focused on the increasing likelihood of Western nations ramping up sanctions against Russia after potential war crimes committed by Moscow soldiers emerged over the weekend.

Reports of mass civilian graves on the outskirts of Kyiv where Russian troops were stationed before retreating have strengthened the case for the UK, US and EU to scale up sanctions against the Kremlin.

America has already banned imports of Russian oil, while the UK has promised to phased out deliveries by the end of the year.

Europe has been more reluctant to ban imports of Russian energy due to the bloc’s heavy reliance on Moscow for supplies to generate output.