London pre-open: Stocks seen flat as investors eye policy announcements
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 15 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a steady open on Monday ahead of a busy week of central bank policy announcements.
The FTSE 100 was called to open broadly flat.
Danske Bank said: "Multiple central bank rate decisions are on the agenda, with notably the FOMC meeting and Bank of Canada (BoC) on Wednesday, the Bank of England (BoE) and Norges Bank (NB) on Thursday, and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) on Friday.
"The FOMC, BoC and NB are expected to deliver a 25bp cut, while we anticipate that both the BoE and BoJ will keep rates unchanged. Regarding the details, the market will be closely watching the Federal Reserve's updated rate projections for clues on the pace of future easing."
Investors will be mulling the latest house price index from Rightmove, which showed that prices ticked modestly higher in September on the back of improved affordability.
The national average asking price rose 0.4% on the month to £370,257. It was the first monthly increase since May and a notable improvement on August's 1.3% decline.
Rightmove said the market was being supported by improved buyer affordability, sensible pricing and a high choice of property.
However, year-on-year and prices softened by 0.1%, driven by London and the south. The number of homes for sale in the south of England jumped 9% in September, compared to a more moderate 2% rise elsewhere.
The number of sales agreed was up 4% year-on-year.
Rightmove's Colleen Babcock said: "We expect to see a slight uptick in new seller asking prices in September, with the traditionally back-to-school season boosting activity heading into autumn.
"This year's price rise is a little lower than the average of 0.6% for this time of year...after a summer of competitive pricing by sellers. It's the south which is driving this small dip.
"Static house prices, rising wages and lower mortgage rates all assist buyer affordability, which has led to an increase in the number of sales agreed compared to a year ago."
In corporate news, electrical retailer AO World ticked up the lower end of earnings guidance and announced its first-ever share buyback on the back of strong cash generation.
Full-year adjusted profit before tax is now expected to be £45m to £50m, up from prior guidance of £40m to £50m. Group revenue is expected to be up 13%.
The company said it would buy back £10m in shares after generating £70m in cash with a revolving credit facility of £120m still undrawn.
Trading platform operator IG Group announced that its chair Mike McTighe will step down after nearly six years in the role.
McTighe, who has been at the helm of the board since February 2020, will leave at the end of the year, and a process is now underway to find his successor.
Self-storage firm Big Yellow said it has exchanged contracts to buy a half-acre freehold property in Bethnal Green, East London, for £10.8m.
Big Yellow said completion of the purchase was unconditional and will take place in 18 months, allowing time for it to secure planning consent to develop a 68,000 square foot self-storage centre on the site, which it expects to yield approximately 8% net operating income on the capital deployed at stabilisation.
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