London stocks gain on Christmas Eve, Vistry falls on profit warning

(Reuters) -The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 rose for a second day on Tuesday in thin trading volumes ahead of the Christmas break, while shares in homebuilder Vistry fell after it issued its third profit warning since October.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.4%, on course for its biggest one-day percentage gain in over two weeks, while the midcap FTSE 250 was up 0.8% in what would be its sharpest rise since Nov. 28.

The chemicals sector led broad-based gains, rising 1.3%, while industrial metal miners gained 0.7% tracking a rise in copper prices supported by revived hopes for additional fiscal stimulus in China. [MET/L]

The energy sector also added 0.7% as oil prices rose in thin trade on a slightly positive market outlook. [O/R]

Vistry tumbled 16.3% to the bottom of the mid-cap FTSE 250 after the homebuilder, hurt by delays to expected year-end transactions and completions, again cut its 2024 profit estimate.

The stock weighed on household goods and home construction index, dropping 2.1% to its lowest level in over a month.

FTSE 100-listed peer homebuilder Persimmon fell 2.4%.

Looking to 2025, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House has prompted central banks around the globe to adopt caution over their monetary policy trajectory.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England kept its key policy rates on hold last week and said it needed to stick to its existing “gradual approach” to cutting rates.

Traders estimate about 52 basis points worth of rate cuts by the end of 2025.

The British economy lost momentum, especially in the second half of the year, with economic woes exacerbated by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’ October budget announcement which included 25 billion pounds ($31 billion) of tax increases for employers.

(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; editing by Janane Venkatraman and Jason Neely)