Sector movers: Construction stock and food retailers under pressure

16th Nov 2016 14:09

(ShareCast News) - Construction stocks were generally lower following a poor trading statement from Barratt Developments, with the home builder coming out and telling clients it had to cut prices at the upper end of the housing stock in the capital.The likes of CRH also came under selling pressure, albeit after recent sharp gains, what with the shares trading near their best levels in five years.Food and drug retailers were the other main drag on the market, with shares in Ocado off sharply after Morrison extended its wholesaling agreement with Amazon.com."We believe this announcement suggests that Morrisons' initial experiences with Amazon (and vice versa) have been encouraging, whilst the store based retailer's broader ambitions and capabilities online appear to be extending; a sentiment that may not be so warmly welcomed by Messrs. Steiner & Co., at Ocado^ (OCDO, Hold at 275p); we reiterate that this is a tie-up that links Amazon Prime customers to Morrisons" offer and so is separate from Morrisons.com, albeit Ocado's shares could react negatively to this news," ShoreCap analyst Clive Black said in a research note sent to clients.In the background, analysts at HSBC penned a research note explaining to clients the important of focusing on the so-called 'adverse inflation differentials' when analysing the UK food retailers.Sainsbury and Morrisons face the double whammy of rising costs and weak sales, with cost savings programmes offering only a temporary salve, while Tesco was winning market share and with growing momentum was on a virtuous circle, the broker said.Chinese steel rebar futures fell back sharply overnight, from $465.1 per tonne in the previous session to $454.5 a tonne, weighing on the likes of Evraz.Personal goods were also unwanted ahead of the release of official retail sales figures the next day, alongside the latest trading statement out of Ted Baker. Top performing sectors so far todayMedia 7,056.54 +1.04%Chemicals 12,128.61 +0.86%Health Care Equipment & Services 6,764.34 +0.67%Software & Computer Services 1,835.57 +0.57%Electronic & Electrical Equipment 4,984.50 +0.49%Bottom performing sectors so far todayConstruction & Materials 6,572.31 -2.50%Banks 3,947.05 -1.65%Industrial Metals & Mining 2,383.39 -1.59%Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,718.77 -1.42%Real Estate Investment & Services 2,333.04 -1.34%