Housebuilders were under more pressure this morning after Nationwide data showed house prices sinking further in July, marking the ninth successive monthly fall.

Barratt Developments was the worst hit, down 5.5p to 94.5p, with Taylor Wimpey, 2p lower at 40.5p, and Persimmon, 11.5p lighter at 298.75p, also heavy fallers.

However, the morning’s biggest casualty was telecoms giant BT Group, down 24.8p, or 12.6 per cent, to 172.8p, after it posted disappointing first-quarter results, with weak margins in its global services division giving cause for concern.

The FTSE 100 rose 11.8 points to 5432.5.

HBOS was among the biggest gainers, up 18.5p to 289.75p, despite posting a 51 per cent drop in first-half pre-tax profits hit by additional writedowns, after investors rewarded the better-than-expected performance. Shareholders had expected the worst after poor results yesterday from Lloyds TSB, which lost another 8.5p to 297.5p

Randgold Resources, up 207p to £25.62, led the FTSE 250 after tripling its second-quarter net profit, while Laird, down 44.75p to 292.25p, was the biggest faller, after disappointing first-half results.

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