London pre-open: Stocks seen up after Friday's slide

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to gain at the open on Monday following heavy losses at the end of last week, amid easing concerns about trade tensions between the US and China.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 40 points higher. Stocks had tumbled on Friday amid concerns about US regional banks.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: "Trade tensions between the US and China are fully back after China restricted rare earth metal exports to the US and the US threatened China with 100% tariffs - before Scott Bessent said later in the week that there could still be a trade truce for another three months.

"Bessent will meet Chinese leaders this week - hopefully to ease the latest flare-up.

"Meanwhile, China kept its rates unchanged today and printed a set of stronger-than-expected production and GDP figures. Yet, growth expanded at the slowest pace in a year, while retail sales grew at the weakest pace in a year.

"Chinese equities kicked off the week with a small rebound from Friday on optimism over the upcoming trade talks, while the HSI is up 2.4%, led higher by a solid rebound in tech stocks this Monday, with Alibaba up 5% in Hong Kong at the time of writing."

On home shores, data released by Rightmove showed the housing market faltered in October as prices softened ahead of the Budget

Average house prices rose just 0.3%, well below the ten-year average for October of 1.1%. Year-on-year, prices dipped 0.1%.

The national average asking price now stands at �371,422.

Autumn traditionally benefits from a spike in demand as the market bounces back from the quieter summer months.

However, after years of constrained supply, the amount of property for sale has rocketed in recent months to a ten-year high, weighing on prices. Some movers are also increasingly cautious about committing to sales ahead of next month's Budget.

Rightmove's Colleen Babcock said: "Despite the overall resilience of the 2025 housing market, we've not got enough pent-up momentum or recent positive sentiment to spur the autumn bounce in property prices.

"Sellers who are serious about selling have had to acknowledge their limited pricing power and moderate their price expectations.

"In addition, speculation that the Budget may increase the cost of buying or owning a property at the higher end of the market has given some movers, particularly in the south of England, a reason to wait and see what's announced."

The number of new buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale, and the number of new sellers coming to market were both down 5% in the full month of September, Rightmove noted.

However, in the year-to-date the market appeared more resilient. Agreed sales are 5% higher year-on-year, while new buyer demand is up 2% and new sellers 5%.

In corporate news, B&M European Value Retail's finance chief is to step down, the chain confirmed, after it discovered �7m of freight costs had not been correctly recognised, hitting profits and causing it to cut its full-year outlook.

The bargain chain said Mike Schmidt would stay with the business while it searches for his successor, to ensure an orderly transition.

Fintech firm Plus500 reiterated its full-year guidance as it said "substantial strategic progress" made during the first nine months of 2025 had helped drive future growth and returns.

Plus500 said year-to-date revenues were up 2% year-on-year at $597.8m, while underlying earnings were up 1% at $267.8m in the nine months ended 30 September.

AstraZeneca said it has received the green light from European regulators for its Saphnelo treatment for lupus.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has recommended Saphnelo for approval as a self-administered, once-weekly pre-filled pen for adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus on top of standard therapy. AstraZeneca said it was also advancing a development programme to explore the drug's potential in other diseases.

Industrial park owner Sirius Real Estate said it has bought a site in Feldkirchen, Germany for �43.7m including acquisition costs.

The business park currently generates �3.4m of annualised rent roll per year and is 94% occupied, the company.