London stocks open higher as personal goods sector gains

British equities edged higher on Tuesday lifted by a surge in the personal goods sector, while investors assessed economic data that shows a slowing UK economy. Both the benchmarks FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 rose 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. The personal goods sector gained 2.2%, led by a surge in Watches of Switzerland as the company kept its sales and profit forecast for 2024 unchanged.

British equities edged higher on Tuesday lifted by a surge in the personal goods sector, while investors assessed economic data that shows a slowing UK economy.

Both the benchmarks FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 rose 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. The personal goods sector gained 2.2%, led by a surge in Watches of Switzerland as the company kept its sales and profit forecast for 2024 unchanged. The stock soared 13.2% in early trade.

Homebuilders rose 1.1 % after British house prices ended six months of consecutive falls in October, reflecting a lack of homes being put up for sale. Persimmon rose 2.1% as it said it would build more homes this year than its earlier expectation.

Vistry, too, climbed 2.5% as it announced an 819 million pound ($1 billion) deal with Blackstone-backed firms Leaf Living and Sage Homes to deliver 2,915 homes starting this year. Precious metal miners, however, slid 1%, leading losses, after gold slipped to a near two-week low. Oil and gas shares fell 0.8% on lower prices.

Naked Wines dropped 23.3% after it slashed its annual revenue and profit outlook on weak performance in the U.S. market.