FTSE 100 movers: Aviva tops risers, housing and property shares fall

8th Jul 2015 16:58

On the day of Chancellor George Osborne's summer Budget, the FTSE 100 was in the green thanks to political boosts for several key sectors and optimistic buying of commodities companies.Aviva was the highest riser just before close on Wednesday, after the Budget saw the chancellor reduce the tax advantages of buy-to-let by capping mortgage interest cost relief at the basic rate, which some analysts argued may be positive for retail investment companies. No news on further pension reforms and a proposal to look into incentivising saving also boded well for the insurance, savings and investment company.Sector peer Old Mutual was also among the top ten highest risers.Despite the ongoing slump for commodities prices, traders and investors took advantage of lower prices of the likes of Shell and Glencore in anticipation of a bounce-back.Going the other way were housebuilding companies and banks, as several proeprty-focused budget measures spooked the market.The Chancellor's clampdown on tax relief on mortgage interest for buy-to-let landlords was said to be negative for sentiment for those companies that are exposed to BTL lending, although it was not expected to affect them directly.Tightened rules on "non-dom" tax status was also weighing on the property sector as it would drive wealthy foreigners out of the property market, in London especially.Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon all suffered sizeable losses during the afternoon.Banks were expected to benefit from the Chancellor's decision to amend the bank levy, which he did, cutting it from its current 0.21% to 0.1% in 2021, however he introduced another new bank-specific tax. A new 8% surcharge on bank's profits will be introduced from the start of 2016.Lloyds and Standard Chartered were both among the leading fallers.BAE Systems outperformed as Osborne committed the UK to maintain defence spending at 5% of gross domestic product over the next five years.FTSE 100 - RisersAviva (AV.) 497.10p +3.50%BAE Systems (BA.) 460.90p +3.46%Glencore (GLEN) 237.90p +3.17%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,812.50p +2.90%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,010.00p +2.87%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,801.50p +2.77%Old Mutual (OML) 204.50p +2.76%Wolseley (WOS) 4,020.00p +2.39%Unilever (ULVR) 2,777.00p +2.32%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,163.00p +2.23%FTSE 100 - FallersBarratt Developments (BDEV) 594.50p -5.71%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 176.20p -5.01%Persimmon (PSN) 1,876.00p -4.67%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 521.50p -2.52%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 82.33p -1.99%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 167.40p -1.47%Standard Chartered (STAN) 984.10p -1.46%ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,017.00p -1.36%Kingfisher (KGF) 341.10p -1.22%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 385.30p -1.21%