LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Limps Along As U.S. Politics Weigh

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- London stocks remained under some pressure on Wednesday, even as broader European markets got a lift, though home-builders and shares of Aviva PLC and Kingfisher PLC were among the stand-out gainers.

The FTSE 100 index treaded water at 6,360.24.

Decliners outweighed gainers, with Vedanta Resources PLC tumbling over 6% after Morgan Stanley cut shares to underweight from equal-weight, saying shares have re-rated strongly since the start of January 2012 and valuations look "demanding" now.

Chip designer ARM Holdings PLC (ARMHY) was another decliner, off 2.5%.

Downbeat sentiment came as investors fretted over a continued lack of progress by U.S. politicians in the budget standoff. Stocks trimmed losses earlier in the day on news that President Barack Obama will nominate Janet Yellen as the new U.S. Federal Reserve chairwoman, but U.S. markets were unable to keep a grip on an early lead.

But home-builders were on the rise after a series of upgrades by Goldman Sachs. The investment bank said the housing recovery in the U.K. is underway. "Partly stimulated by the 'Help to Buy' shared equity scheme, lead indicators such as U.K. mortgage approvals and RICS Survey data strongly indicate a rebound in activity," said Goldman analysts.

Persimmon PLC was the top gainer in London, up 5.5% after Goldman added the home-builder to its conviction buy list, along with Taylor Wimpey PLC and Rightmove PLC . Away from the main index, Taylor Wimpey rose over 4% and Rightmove was up 0.3%.

Goldman lifted Bovis Homes Group and Barratt Developments PLC each to buy from neutral. Also away from the main index, shares of those companies were up 4%.

Other gainers included Kingfisher PLC , up 1.6%, and Aviva PLC up 1.3%.

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