Sector movers: Construction, real estate jump as BoE stays put

(Sharecast News) - Interest rate sensitive areas of the FTSE 350 did best on Thursday as the Bank of England held fire. Bank Rate was kept at 5.25%, as expected, helping push 10-year Gilt yields down by 11 basis points to 4.388%.

"Andrew Bailey has joined the club of central bankers being more circumspect about the chance of more rate hikes," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"They are not off the table, just out of reach for now. The recent reversal in oil prices from a one-year high has done much to calm fears of a renewed inflationary surge, though recession fears remain given that the full impact of the global rise in rates has yet to be felt."

Automobiles and Parts, one of the most cyclical sectors, topped the leaderboard.

Worth noting, the night before the U.S. Federal Reserve had also kept rates on hold, so that traders were increasingly banking on a top now being in for the current rate cycle - although central bankers themselves had not yet said quite as much.

Going the other way, pharma and utilities acted as a small drag on the London market.

Top performing sectors so far today

Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,085.78 +6.38%

Automobiles & Parts 1,487.82 +4.16%

Construction & Materials 8,064.52 +3.58%

Real Estate Investment & Services 1,982.45 +3.55%

Telecommunications Service Providers 1,994.59 +3.53%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 19,861.36 -0.53%

Gas, Water & Multiutilities 6,047.60 -0.12%