News that US Congress rejected $700bn bail-out plan sent share prices downwards before recovering on the London Stock Exchange

Housebuilding shares were marked down sharply before recovering in early trading after the news that the US Congress had failed to approve a $700bn bail-out.

The early fallers were:

  • Taylor Wimpey -5.8% to 33p
  • Barratt -4.4% to 99p
  • Persimmon -2.3% to 364p
  • Bovis -2.2% to 361p
  • Bellway -2.6% to 523p
  • Berkeley -0.75% to 724p

They recovered moments later, as investors eyed a bargain, and Persimmon led the way with an 9% rise to 406p.

Kevin Cammack, an analyst at Kaupthing, said shares had already lost value yesterday amid news of further turbulence in the global banking market and the anticipation the $700bn bail-out would not get approval.

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