Sector movers: Electronic and real estate stocks slide

25th Jul 2014 14:54

Real estate stocks declined, led by Hammerson and British Land, after a report showed UK house prices grew at the slowest pace in 18 months in July.Hometrack said property prices increased by 0.1% this month, down from 0.3% in June and 0.5% in May. House prices in London stalled in July, recording the lowest monthly change for 19 months.The data follows the introduction of tighter rules on mortgage lending amid concerns over accelerating house prices.The electronic and electrical equipment sector was also lower after Spectris said first-half pre-tax profit fell 10%, reflecting a weak second quarter due to the mining and academic research sectors.On the flipside, banks were rising as Royal Bank of Scotland delivered a better-than-expected first half operating performance.The results, which came a week earlier than scheduled, showed operating profit totalled £2.6bn, or £3.3bn excluding restructuring and litigation and conduct costs, compared with £1.59bn in the same period a year earlier.Vodafone provided a boost to mobile telecommunications stocks after saying it extended its voluntary tender offer for Cobra Automotive Technologies by five trading days. Top performing sectors so far todayMobile Telecommunications 4,574.75 +2.10%Banks 4,434.50 +1.22%Forestry & Paper 11,417.64 +0.86%Construction & Materials 4,074.04 +0.83%Industrial Engineering 10,510.30 +0.55%Bottom performing sectors so far todayElectronic & Electrical Equipment 3,774.04 -1.78%Automobiles & Parts 8,066.33 -1.77%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 12,872.94 -1.58%Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,819.24 -1.46%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 23,277.40 -1.39%RD