Persimmon shares are delivering a textbook lesson to investors this morning, highlighting the dangers in relying on headlines alone. Today’s H1 trading update may show revenues up a handsome 12% coupled with volumes and average selling prices climbing by 6%. But a 4% share price decline is all down to Brexit uncertainty easily outweighing the positive financials and management’s confidence falling on deaf ears.

Once again results are worth nada; outlook is king! Share prices quite rightly attribute nearly all importance on future earnings potential rather than historical performance. After all, you can’t buy past growth. And investors like corporate uncertainty only marginally more than they liked listening to Chris Evans’ shouting on a Sunday evening.

It’s still early days following the referendum but the property market and housebuilders are being singled out as the most exposed, nursing the biggest losses on the UK Index since June 24. And Standard Life Investments suspending redemptions from its £2.9bn commercial real-estate fund is like a red flag to a panicky bull, failing miserably to retain calm among the sector’s retail faithful, simply adding fuel to post-Brexit flames of worry. Shares off their worst levels, but be careful you don’t get burnt.

Mike van Dulken, Head of Research, 4 July