Housebuilders saw their shares lift on strong market data, as traders bet these firms might gain from the worst floods for a generation in the North.
Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon made ground as estimates from accountants KPMG suggest the total economic cost of the floods could hit £5.8 billion, leading to renewed building and repair work.
The wider FTSE 100 Index was 60 points higher at 6314.6, amid thin trading and little corporate or economic news following the Christmas break.
Germany's DAX was two per cent higher, while the Cac 40 in France was up by 1.8 per cent .
The pound was a cent lower against the US dollar at just under 1.48, after data showed US house prices lifted 5.5 per cent in the 12 months to the end of October, up from 5.4 per cent the month before. Sterling was slightly down against the euro at just under 1.36.
KPMG also said insurers faced potential claims of up to £1.5 billion, following warnings of more disruption in Cumbria and southern and central Scotland as Storm Frank threatens to bring more misery.
IHS Global Insight chief UK and European economist Howard Archer added that December flooding could impact growth in the economy by between 0.2 per cent and 0.25 per cent, due to businesses not being able to open, loss of agricultural output, and people not being able to get to the shops.
Insurers fell in early trading, but later edged higher. More Than owner RSA was up 2.6p, to 433.5p, and Aviva climbed 2p to 521p.
By contrast housebuilders lifted after a recent report by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said it expected house prices to increase by around six per cent in 2016.
Traders are also gambling these firms will benefit from the new building and repair work that will come in the clear-up after the flooding.
Berkeley was up almost three per cent, or 98p, to 3711p, Persimmon climbed 67p to 2040p, and Taylor Wimpey was 7p higher to 204.2p.
Supermarkets were lower ahead of retailers reporting Christmas sales over the next few weeks.
Sainsbury's was 1.5p down to 265p and Tesco fell 0.3p to 151.2p, as traders fear falling grocery prices will continue to hurt profits.
It was another poor session for miners and oil giants as the commodity price rout showed little sign of easing.
The cost of benchmark Brent Crude lifted by more than a dollar to 37.73 US dollars a barrel after recent falls, but still remains close to an 11-year low hit earlier this month.
BP was more than one per cent off, down 5.2p to 360.8p, although Royal Dutch Shell climbed 8p to 1579p.
Worries over China's economic slowdown continued to weigh heavy on mining stocks, with Anglo American leading the FTSE 100 falls - down more than six per cent, or 20.7p, to 307.4p.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 Index were Hikma Pharmaceuticals up 107p at 2358p, Taylor Wimpey up 7p at 204.2p, Persimmon up 67p at 2040p and Smith & Nephew up 36p at 1209p.
The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were Anglo American down 20.7p at 307.4p, Pearson down 22.5p at 745.5p, Rolls-Royce down 8.5p at 586.5p and BP down 5.2p at 360.8p.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel