London pre-open: Stocks seen down; Halifax house prices in focus

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Tuesday as investors mulled the latest house price figures from Halifax. The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 55 points.

Data released earlier by Halifax showed that house prices fell 0.2% on the month in December 2024 following 1.2% growth in November.

On an annual basis, prices were up 3.3%, down from 4.7% growth in November and leaving the average price of a home at £297,166.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "The housing market was broadly steady at the start of 2024, with house price growth taking off from the summer onwards. In the latter half of the year, house prices grew in response to the falls in mortgage rates, alongside income growth, both leading to financial pressures somewhat easing for buyers.

"Impending changes to Stamp Duty thresholds have also given prospective first-time buyers even greater motivation to get on the housing ladder and bring any home-buying plans forward. Together, these elements meant mortgage demand picked up, hitting the highest level in over two years and back to levels seen pre-pandemic.

"In many areas across the country, house prices were also buoyed by demand outstripping supply, possibly further amplified by homeowners holding off putting their property on the market - perhaps in anticipation of mortgage rates reducing further."

She said that while the housing market has been supported in recent months by falling mortgage rates, income growth and the announcement on upcoming Stamp Duty policy changes, mortgage affordability will remain a challenge, especially as the Bank Rate is likely to come down more slowly than previously predicted.

"However, providing employment conditions don't deteriorate markedly from a more recent softening, buyer demand should hold up relatively well and, taking all this into account, we're continuing to anticipate modest house price growth this year."

In corporate news, clothing retailer Next lifted full-year guidance after better-than-expected December sales but warned UK growth is likely to slow, as employer tax increases, and their potential impact on prices and employment, begin to filter through into the economy.

Full-year guidance for the 12 months to January was lifted by £5m to £1.01bn after underlying full-price sales rose by 5.7% against expectations of a 3.5% increase. For 2026, Next anticipates full-price sales growth of 3.5% and profit before tax of £1.046bn, up 3.6%.

Elsewhere, GSK announced that its B7-H3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, GSK'227, had been granted breakthrough therapy designation by the US FDA for relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer with no approved treatments after two prior lines of therapy.

The pharma firm said the designation, supported by data from the ARTEMIS-002 trial, reflected the potential of GSK'227 to provide significant clinical benefit over existing options in the high-need area.

It marked the third regulatory milestone for GSK'227, following similar designations in Europe and the US for other cancer indications.