Investor disappointment on the rise

Heading into the close, the FTSE 100 is 50 points lower, as investor sentiment turns sour once again.

• Trump tax plan underwhelms
• ECB nudged towards a hawkish view
• Housebuilders have much to look forward to

As the session winds down it is getting quite messy out there. The FTSE 100 is at the lows of the day, while European markets have given up their limited gains and the US (aside from the Nasdaq) has turned southwards as well. The latest attempt to get the Trump bounce moving again has barely got off the ground; disappointment with the tax plan is palpable, and if it weren’t for the looming end of the month, markets would probably be a quite a bit lower. Meanwhile, the ECB meeting provided little in the way of news – given the second round of the French election is now just a week away, most at the bank would probably have preferred to have skipped this meeting. Still, while the meeting
 didn’t quite match up to the hawkish expectations pedalled by some euro bulls, the statement did only contain one, rather than two, mentions of ‘risks to the downside’. Such is the arcane nature of central bank analysis, but it does signal that the slow move away from QE has begun.

While Mediclinic dominates the leaderboard in London after news of potential regulatory change, both Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon are also gaining. While both have their issues, the former being around leasehold disputes and the latter facing a pay revolt, the outlook for the sector remains sunny, not least due to the government’s White Paper on housing, which promises more efforts on this front. The election should pass without impact for the two companies, which look set for further gains over the longer term.