UK equities rise after annual budget; real estate shines

"The message seems to be fairly clearly about growth," said Christopher Peters, trading floor manager at Accendo Markets. "The current government is on target to hit their inflation targets earlier than expected, whilst delivering growth unexpectedly." Shares in British pub groups such as Marston's, Fuller Smith & Turner and J D Wetherspoon rose between 1% and 1.5% after Hunt announced the extension of the alcohol duty freeze till February 2025. Rate-sensitive real estate companies and real estate investment trusts added about 2% each following the tax-cut proposal in the budget.

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Finance Minister delivers annual budget statement *

Real estate stocks rise on tax cuts on property sale *

Pub stocks gain on alcohol duty freeze extension *

FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 1.2% (Updated at 1439 GMT)

By Shristi Achar A March 6 (Reuters) -

UK shares were higher on Wednesday, with the domestically focussed FTSE 250 notching a two-month high, as investors assessed the spring budget statement, while real estate stocks rose on a cut in capital gains tax

on property sales. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, as of 1439 GMT, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 climbed 1.2%, to hit its highest level since early January.

Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt in his pre-election budget statement said inflation would fall below the Bank of England's 2% target in "just a few months' time", while forecasting a 0.8% growth in the economy this year after entering a recession in the second half of 2023. "The message seems to be fairly clearly about growth," said Christopher Peters, trading floor manager at Accendo Markets.

"The current government is on target to hit their inflation targets earlier than expected, whilst delivering growth unexpectedly." Shares in

British pub groups such as Marston's, Fuller Smith & Turner and J D Wetherspoon rose between 1% and 1.5% after Hunt announced the extension of the alcohol duty freeze till February 2025.

Rate-sensitive real estate companies and real estate investment trusts added about 2% each following the tax-cut proposal in the budget. Among stocks, ConvaTech jumped 5.2% after the medical products and technologies firm raised its mid-term forecast for revenue growth, lifting the medical equipment and services index up 2.8% to lead sectoral gains.

British Airways owner IAG gained 5.2% on a JP Morgan rating upgrade, while Legal & General slid 1.2% after the life insurer missed expectations for 2023 operating profit. Meanwhile, homebuilders added 0.8%, with data showing that British house-building activity declined last month at the slowest pace since late 2022, indicating signs of recovery in the property sector.