Homebuilders fall after weak construction data

Hovnanian Enterprises

02/12/2019 15:56

** Shares in U.S. homebuilders tumbled on Monday after
construction data showed weakness in residential.
   ** U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in October as
investment in private projects tumbled to its lowest level in
three years. September data was revised to show outlays
declining 0.3% vs rising 0.5% as reported before.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nLNS2NEFEC
    ** In October, spending on private construction projects
dropped 1.0% to $956.3 billion, lowest since October 2016, after
falling 1.1% in September. It was held down by a 0.9% decrease
in spending on private residential projects. Outlays on
residential construction dropped 1.1% in September.
    ** The biggest percentage decliner among homebuilders was
Hovnanian Enterprises  HOV.N , last down 4.7%. Other
homebuilders LGI Homes Inc  LGIH.O , KB Home  KBH.N , Century
Communities  CCS.N , Taylor Morrison Home Corp  TMHC.N  and M/I
Homes  MHO.N  were all down more than 2%.
    ** The PHLX Housing index  .HGX  was down 1.1% while the S&P
500  .SPX  was down 0.8%

 ((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +1 (646) 223 6186; Reuters
Messaging: sinead.carew.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))