UK Home Prices Fall, New Car Registrations Rise

Arthi Gupta
06 Nov, 2012
New York City

The UK indexes climbed after production fell in September. Home prices in the UK declined but new car registrations rose in October. BG Group completed the sale of Brazil based Comg

[R]5:00 PM London – The UK indexes climbed after production fell in September. Home prices in the UK declined but new car registrations rose in October. BG Group completed the sale of Brazil based Comgás stake to Cosan.[/R]

UK stocks gained tracking markets in Europe and New York and commodities prices traded higher. Home prices declined, retail sales volume fell and new car registration increased.

In London, the benchmark index FTSE 100 gained 45.84 or 0.8% to 5,884.90 and the pound edged lower to $1.5981.

UK Retail Sales Climb

UK retail sales values fell 0.1% on a comparable basis from October 2011 when sales fell 0.6% on the preceding year, according to survey results released by the British Retail Consortium.

On a total basis, sales were up 1.1% from the 1.5% rise in October 2011.

UK Output Slumps

The UK industrial production declined 1.7% in September from a month ago following a 0.5% drop in August, the Office for National Statistics said in a report today.

Annually, industrial production dropped 2.6% in September from the 1% fall in August.

UK Home Prices Fall, New Car Registrations Rise

UK home prices declined in October, a survey by Lloyds Banking Group''s Halifax division showed.

The home price index decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in October.

Prices in the three months to October were 1.7% lower than in the same period a year earlier.

Separately, UK new car registrations rose 12.1% to 151,252 units in October, bucking current demand trends in Europe, data published by Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed today.

The new car market increased 5% over the year-to-date to 1.77 million units in October, an increase of 83,823 units on a year ago.

Irish Manufacturing Falls

Ireland''s manufacturing output fell a seasonally adjusted 13.7% annually in September compared to the 0.1% gain in August, data released by the Central Statistics Office showed.

On a monthly basis, industrial production fell 12.7% in September following a 0.3% slip in August.

Gainers & Losers

ARM Holdings plc rose 2.5% to 712.50 pence after the semiconductor and software designer announced participation in a consortium to acquire rights to MIPS Technologies'' portfolio of patents. The consortium will pay $350 million in cash to acquire rights to the portfolio, of which ARM will contribute $167.5 million.

BG Group plc gained 0.4% to 1,092.50 pence after the natural gas company completed the sale of the group’s entire 60.1% holding in Comgás for 3.4 billion reais or approximately $1.7 billion to Cosan S.A. Indústria e Comércio. In addition, debt on the BG Group balance sheet has been reduced by $1 billion.

British Polythene Industries plc climbed 2.3% to 381 pence after the polythene film producer stated third quarter sales volume decline was lower than in the first six-month period.

InterContinental Hotels Group Plc increased 1.5% to 1,547.37 pence after the hotel operator stated third quarter revenue grew to $473 million from $467 million in the comparable period in 2011. Pre-tax profit dropped to $150 million compared with $194 million last year.

Marks & Spencer traded up 2% to 395.92 pence after the largest UK apparel retailer said pre-tax profit before one-time charges decreased to £297 million in the 26 weeks to September 29 compared to pro-forma £307 million in the same period a year ago.

XL Group plc increased 1.5% to $24.58 pence after the financial services company reported third quarter revenue rose to $1.82 billion from $1.66 billion a year ago. Net income for the quarter surged to $171.9 million or 56 cents per share compared to $42.4 million or 14 cents per share for the year-ago quarter.