London pre-open: Stocks to edge up as investors mull Samsung results, house price data

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to edge up at the open on Tuesday as investors digested the latest UK house price data and results from Samsung.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 12 points higher.

Investors will be mulling the latest Lloyds house price index - formerly the Halifax HPI - which showed that house prices ticked up in June as mortgage rates started to ease. British house prices increased 0.2% in June, following a 0.2% softening in May. It was the first increase for four months. The average property price now stands at �299,330.

Market participants will also be turning their attention to results from Samsung, which despite being better than expected caused the shares to slide.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: "Samsung delivered VERY strong - and stronger-than-expected - results. Its operating profit rose to nearly �90 trillion (the equivalent of $58bn), its quarterly profit surged 19-fold year-on-year and the profit margin for the memory chip business was around 80% - also showing the incredible pricing power the company has thanks to booming AI demand.

"Yet, Samsung shares tanked 9% in South Korea after the results, pulling the Korean Kospi 8% down - yes, the index is down almost as much as a single company's stock - this is how overly dependent the Kospi is on the health of just two companies. Trading there was stopped again to give the market room to breathe!

"How did this happen despite a decent earnings beat? The answer is that the real expectation - the so-called whisper number - was even higher than what analysts had pencilled in. The whisper number is the unofficial earnings target that circulates among investors, traders and portfolio managers ahead of a company's results."

In UK corporate news, geotechnical contractor Keller Group said that trading had strengthened further through the second quarter, with momentum accelerating since its May update and North America materially outperforming expectations.

Looking ahead, Keller said that its stronger secondquarter performance, continued margin discipline and solid order book left it confident that fullyear 2026 revenues and underlying operating profits would now be materially ahead of current market consensus.

Safety equipment maker Halma said it had bought France-based Dreampath Diagnostics for an initial �154m (�132m), on a cash- and debt-free basis.

Headquartered in Strasbourg, Dreampath makes automated systems that enable anatomical pathology laboratories to track, store and manage patient tissue samples throughout the diagnostic process.

The deal includes an earn-out of up to �121m (�104m), based on performance over the two years to 31 March 2027 and 2028.