Real estate plays struggled while airlines rose as U.K. stocks edged lower Wednesday.
Property developer Land Securities
LAND,
fell 3% as other real-estate stocks including builders Taylor Wimpey
TW,
and Persimmon
PSN,
fell. The new social-care funding proposed by U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson includes a dividend tax as well as increased national insurance levies on both employees and employers.
“The tax rise will hit profits and dividends. In making this move, the U.K. has moved out of step with other developed nations which have steered well clear of tax rises so far,” said Seema Shah, chief strateigst at Principal Global Investors.
The FTSE 100
UKX,
fell 0.4% to 7,118.26.
B&M European Value Retail
BME,
was the best FTSE 100 advancer, up 7%, as it reported margin strength will allow it to report half-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization between £275 million and $285 million, topping consensus expectations at approximately £235 million.
Airlines including easyJet
EZJ,
and Wizz Air
WIZZ,
advanced as the Daily Telegraph reported that a system based around the vaccination status of travellers, instead of the intended country being visited, was under consideration.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
