Construction shares fall 4%

Macroeconomic worries have seen construction share prices fall across the board this morning.

Poor industrial production data from the US yesterday and weak construction output data from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing in the UK saw construction shares fall by about 4% this morning.

The biggest faller was Rok, which caught most in the City by surprise when it issued a profit warning that raised concerns over the state of the social housing and commercial markets. It lost over half its share price and was trading at 35p by mid-morning.

Morgan Sindall was another faller, losing 11% in early trading to 469p. One analyst said: “After the Rok statement people became worried and Morgan Sindall is the most Rok-like company out there in terms of its exposure to the commercial and social housing markets.”

Carillion proved to be the exception – rising 5% to 236p on the back of £600m worth of contracts won in the Middle East.

For an up-to-date list of share prices see Citywatch.