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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

Sector movers: Homebuilders, water utilities pace gains

(Sharecast News) - Homebuilders and Utilities paced gains on Thursday following the release of a weaker-than-expected reading for US inflation in the month of June that weighed on longer-term government bond yields on either side of the Atlantic. Headline CPI gains in the States slowed from an annual pace of 3.3% in May to 3.0% (consensus: 3.1%) in June.

That was the slowest pace of increase since one year before and left Fed funds futures pricing in 93% odds of a 25bp rate cut for when the US central bank next met on 18 September

On home shores, the Office for National Statistics announced that UK gross domestic product expanded at a month-on-month pace of 0.4% in May (consensus: 0.2%). A 0.3% rise in services output was one of the key drivers of growth, alongside a 1.9% jump in construction output.

The stronger-than-expected UK GDP data, together with similarly strong readings on wage growth in a couple of surveys and hawkish speeches from BoE officials, meant that an August reduction in Bank Rate was now a close call, said economists at Bank of America.

Nonetheless, BofA was still anticipating a rate cut in the UK come August.

Worth noting, Sterling was higher in the background, tacking on a further 0.49% to 1.2912.

The FTSE 100 ended the day up by 0.36% to 8,223.34, with the upside capped by gains in the exchange rate, whilst the second-tier index added 1.25% to 21,188.91.

Water utilities meanwhile were boosted by the release of Ofwat's draft determinations on the industry's five-year investment plans.

Both Severn Trent and Pennon were lauded by the regulator for their "outstanding" business plans.

Top performing sectors so far today

Automobiles & Parts 1,161.99 +3.46%

Real Estate Investment & Services 2,358.05 +2.50%

Household Goods & Home Construction 13,925.93 +2.22%

Industrial Transportation 3,911.06 +2.16%

Gas, Water & Multiutilities 6,107.08 +2.11%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Media 12,500.68 -0.79%

Non-life Insurance 3,659.47 -0.74%

Telecommunications Service Providers 2,055.80 -0.67%

Oil, Gas and Coal 9,050.90 -0.58%

Tobacco 28,802.38 -0.09%

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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