Housebuilder stocks dip on CMA investigation

Shares in the listed housebuilders have slipped slightly after the Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into suspected anti-competitive behaviour. Taylor Wimpey’s stock was the most affected among the cohort named by the watchdog earlier today, closing down 2.8% at 141.9p.  Persimmon’s share price fell by 2.3% to 1,379p, while Bellway was down by nearly 1.9% and Vistry was down by around 1.6%.  Berkeley posted a marginal decline of around 0.7%, with Redrow down by 0.3% and Barratt by just over 0.2%.  The eighth housebuilder under CMA scrutiny is Bloor Homes, which is privately held.  The CMA said it had “fundamental concerns” about the market following a year-long review into housebuilding practices. It cited evidence that they could be sharing “commercially sensitive information” with competitors, which may be keeping prices high and affecting development activity.  However, the watchdog emphasised that it has not yet reached any conclusions on whether competition law has been infringed.  The FTSE 100 was relatively flat at 7,684 points, while the FTSE 250 fell by 0.3% to close at 19,126 points. Photo © Paul Gillis/Shutterstock