Taylor Wimpey Share News (TW.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Despite losses on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 was once again managing to outperform relative to the steeper falls seen from European counterparts due to continued sterling weakness.The pound declined on Tuesday after the latest UK construction Purchasing Managers' Index disappointed, following a weak manufacturing reading on Monday.Housebuilders weighed on the blue-chip index after the construction data, while WPP fell as it posted a rise in interim profit but a fall in revenue.The FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, or 19.51 points, at 7,485.09 midday Tuesday. The FTSE 250 was 0.2% lower, or 50.45 points, at 20,645.40. The AIM All-Share index, however, was up 0.1% at 1,108.77.Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 12,678.87, the Cboe UK 250 down 0.2% at 18,708.04 and the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 12,270.37.In Paris, the CAC 40 was slumped 1.1% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt declined 0.8% at midday."US markets return to the fray today, marking the real end of the summer lull. Europe saw a mixed session yesterday, but the star performer was the FTSE 100, which today continues to outperform its European peers mainly thanks to yet more sterling weakness," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.The pound was quoted at USD1.2823 at midday, from USD1.2883 late Monday.Coming after a weaker-than-expected manufacturing PMI on Monday, Tuesday brought a similarly disappointing construction reading. The Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI fell to 52.9 in August, down from 55.8 in July. While a reading above 50 indicates growth, the figure was well below economists' expectations of 54.9.Tim Moore, associate director at IHS Markit, said: "The construction sector slipped back into a slower growth phase in August, with this summer's catch-up effect starting to unwind after projects were delayed by adverse weather at the start of 2018."Commercial building was the best performing area of construction output in August, followed closely by residential work. However, the latest expansion of housing activity was the weakest since March.The news saw FTSE 100-listed housebuilders in the red on Tuesday, with Persimmon down 2.0%, Taylor Wimpey down 1.5% and Berkeley Group down 1.2%.In the eurozone, producer price inflation accelerated due to higher energy prices in July.Producer prices advanced 4% year-on-year in July, Eurostat showed, following a 3.6% rise in June. Prices were expected to gain 3.9%. Excluding energy, producer price inflation rose slightly to 1.7% in July from 1.6% a month ago.On a monthly basis, producer price inflation held steady at 0.4% compared to the forecast of 0.3%.In the US on Tuesday, stocks are called for a mixed start as markets re-open from the Labor Day holiday on Monday. The Dow Jones is seen 0.1% lower, the S&P flat and the Nasdaq up 0.1%.In the economic calendar, the US ISM manufacturing PMI is at 1500 BST with construction spending due at the same time. To come in the UK, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney testifies at 1315 BST in front of the Treasury Select Committee. This comes as reports have surfaced over the past week suggesting the Treasury is in talks over the governor staying on until 2020.Carney announced in late 2016 that he would stay in his role until the end of June 2019, opting against a full eight-year term. However, this would mean he will be governor for just three months after Britain formally leaves the EU in March, leaving a newcomer to navigate the aftermath of the divorce.On the London Stock Exchange at midday, Lloyds Banking was up 0.8% after Berenberg raised its rating on the lender to Hold from Sell. At the bottom of the FTSE 100 index was WPP, the advertising giant down 6.2%.WPP posted a 8.6% rise in pretax profit for the six months to the end of June to GBP846.5 million compared to GBP779.2 million reported a year earlier, despite revenue dropping 2.1% to GBP7.49 billion from GBP7.65 billion. Billings were down 1.0% to GBP26.66 billion in the first-half compared to GBP26.92 billion the year before, although up 4.1% at constant currency.On strategy, WPP said it will update the market before the year end. This promise of a strategic shift comes just a day after the company promoted Mark Read, the head of its digital division, to chief executive officer with immediate effect. "The big question is whether Read feels WPP's conglomerate structure remains the way forward, if not, then WPP as we know it might not long survive the departure of its founder," commented Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.Halfords pedalled to the top of the FTSE 250, up 6.7% at midday.For the 20-week period to August 17, the motoring, cycling and vehicle products retailer recorded 2.7% growth in total revenue, with Retail up 2.6% and Autocentres up 3.9% on last year.On a like-for-like basis, group revenue was up 2.8% in what the company described as a "solid performance despite a challenging retail environment".Retail Motoring like-for-like sales jumped by 3.8%, driven by growth in fitting services, car cleaning products, tools, and staycation-related products, the company said. Cycling sales were up 0.8%, with a good peak summer period offsetting the impact of the poor weather experienced at the start of the year.Hunting gained 2.8% after Kepler Cheuvreux raised the oilfield services firm to Buy from Hold.Slumped at the bottom of the mid-caps was Alfa Financial Software, down 7.0%.For the first six months of the year, Alfa Financial recorded pretax profit of GBP8.6 million, down from GBP14.0 million in the same period a year ago, on revenue of GBP32.9 million and GBP45.1 million, respectively.With Tuesday's share price slump, the company currently has a market capitalisation of GBP441.9 million. This leaves it in prime relegation spot out of the FTSE 250 ahead of the latest quarterly index review.The index changes will be announced after the market close on Wednesday, based on Tuesday's closing price. The changes come into effect from the start of trading on Monday, September 24.