FTSE builds on houses

But more losses for oil major Royal Dutch Shell after its results and a drop on Wall Street kept market gains to a minimum. Housebuilders were a popular pick after Bellway said it sold more homes in the six months to end-January than a year ago and that it was on track to meet full-year goals. Bellway ended up 1.3% to 1,180p, while Redrow finished 4% higher at 551p and Persimmon rose 3.4% to 1,315p. On the downside, Kingfisher fell 3.8% to 230p after joint house broker Credit Suisse cut its 2006/7 profit forecast by 12% ahead of the firm's fourth-quarter trading update next week, citi...