London pre-open: Stocks to edge up ahead of BoE, Fed rate announcements

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to edge up at the open on Thursday as investors waded through a deluge of corporate news and looked ahead to the latest policy announcements from the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve. The FTSE 100 was called to open around10 points higher.

The BoE, whose decision is due at midday, is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

Meanwhile, the Fed - whose announcement is due at 1900 GMT - is also expected to cut rates by 25 basis points.

Before that, investors will be mulling the latest data from Halifax, which showed that house prices ticked up to a record high in October.

House prices rose 0.2% on the month following a 0.3% increase in September. On the year, prices were up 3.9% in October following a 4.6% increase the month before.

The average price of a home stood at £293,999 last month, versus £293,305 in September.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said the average price had surpassed the previous peak of £293,507 set in June 2022, towards the end of the pandemic-era 'race for space'.

"That house prices have reached these heights again in the current economic climate may come as a surprise to many, but perhaps more noteworthy is that they didn't fall very far in the first place. Despite the headwind of higher interest rates, house prices have mostly levelled off over the past two and a half years, recording a +0.2% increase overall. That's a significant slowdown compared to the +21% rise we saw in the equivalent period from January 2020 to the summer of 2022," she said.

"Despite the affordability challenge, market activity has been improving. The number of new mortgages agreed recently reached its highest level in two years. This aligns with average mortgage rates dropping steadily since spring - now over 160 basis points lower than in summer 2023 - coupled with continued positive income growth.

"Looking ahead, borrowing constraints remain a challenge for many buyers. Following the budget, markets expect the Bank of England to cut rates more slowly than previously anticipated, which could keep mortgage costs higher for longer. New policies like higher stamp duty for second home buyers and a return to previous thresholds for first-time buyers might also affect demand.

"While we expect house prices to keep growing, it will likely be at a modest pace for the rest of this year and into next."

In corporate news, UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's reported increasing momentum in its second quarter as it reiterated guidance for strong underlying profit growth this financial year, helped by improving grocery volumes and a stronger performance from Argos in the second half.

The group reported total retail sales growth of 3.1% when excluding fuel for the 28 weeks to 14 September, with growth accelerating from 2.3% in the first quarter to 4.1% in the second.

Taylor Wimpey said it was on track to deliver full-year UK volumes and group operating profit in line with current market expectations.

The housebuilder said that in the second half to date, it saw steady signs of improvement in customer demand as mortgage rates reduced and affordability improved.

Results were also out from BT, Rolls-Royce, National Grid, ITV and a host of other companies.