Sector movers: Property and beverages shares keep London market in green territory

14th May 2015 15:12

Property, housebuilders and beverages shares kept the London market broadly in green territory on Thursday, as worries in Greece continued to lurk in the background.At 16:24 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading at 6,964.17 up 0.21% or 14.54 property and housebuilding continuing to trade higher off the back of last week's general election result. Zoopla (up 5.6%), Crest Nicholson (up 3.21%) and Countrywide (up 2.76%) were among the top risers on the FTSE 250.However, the story of the day came from beverages sector with most drinks companies riding high on expectation of improved consumer confidence. Diageo (up 2.02%), Coca-Cola HBG (up 1.07%), SABMiller (up 0.67%) and Britvic (up 0.66%) were among the risers. On a related note pub groups Marston's (up 0.18%) and Mitchells & Butlers (up 0.65%) were also in the green on positive trading data.Marston's reported a narrowed pre-tax interim loss on the back of improved sales, proving the efficiency of its business plan. The FTSE 250 group said its pre-tax loss in the six months to 4 April halved year-on-year to £27.5m on revenue up 3% to £384.5m.At Mitchells & Butlers, revenues rose 9.5% to £1.11bn and profits before tax were up 4% to £75m. The results were helped by like-for-like sales and the contribution of new pubs and restaurants.Total like-for-like sales were up by 1.7%, with food volumes rising 2.9%. Drink sales rose 2.7% despite a decline in volume of 2.2%. Canaccord Genuity currently has a 'buy' rating on the company, alongside a 'hold' rating on Marstons. Numis has both on an 'add' recommendation.Industrial engineering stocks traded higher off the positive vibes provided by Melrose (up 2.38%). The engineering company upheld its positive outlook on Thursday, as its gas, electricity and water metering trade offset weak demand in its electricity generation arm."Overall, trading in the period allows the board to be confident about the performance of Melrose this year. The board continues to be keen on finding the next acquisition," the company said.Going the other way, mining sector shares suffered losses on mixed data from China, as investment levels in the country retreated to levels last seen 15 years ago. The data prompted a sell-off in the base metals market, pushing mining stocks in the red.Anglo American (down 2.03%) and BHP Billiton (down 1.59%) ended up among the trading session's worst performing FTSE 100 shares. Independent oil and gas explorers Premier Oil (down 2.88%) and Nostrum Oil & Gas (down 2.71%) also took a hit, in a generally negative trading day for natural resources related shares.Top five sectorsProperty & Housebuilders 14,776.31 +196.42 +1.35% Beverages 14,354.74 +171.75 +1.21% Engineering 9,229.11 +78.52 +0.86% Electricity 9,854.45 +84.33 +0.86% Media 7,463.94 +63.23+0.85%