London pre-open: Stocks to fall after lacklustre Asian session
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 07 Oct 2026
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Wednesday following a lacklustre Asian session, as investors mulled the latest UK house price figures.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 25 points lower.
Investors will be mulling the latest house price index from Lloyds, which showed that prices were steady in September despite the impact of higher interest rates.
House prices were unchanged on the month following a 0.3% decline in August. On the year, prices were flat in September, having fallen 0.4% a month earlier.
The average price of a property was £298,441, versus £298,395 in August.
Northern Ireland continued to lead the UK, with annual house price growth rising to 7.4% from 6.8% a month earlier. Meanwhile, Greater London recorded the biggest annual fall, with prices down 2.2% year-on-year.
Andrew Asaam, mortgages director at Lloyds, said: "While the market overall has been fairly subdued, property prices have so far proved resilient during a period of higher mortgage rates, which has been driven by changing expectations around the future path of Base Rate. That's mirrored in wider economic data, with household spending holding up better than many expected despite energy and other cost pressures arising from the Middle East conflict.
"Whether that picture continues is likely to depend on how confident consumers feel that the latest cost‑of‑living pressures will prove temporary. Confidence has long been a key driver of housing market activity, and will play an important role in shaping demand over the remainder of this year and into 2027.
"For now, the housing market appears to be balancing buyer caution with continued underlying demand. While higher mortgage rates and wider economic uncertainty are encouraging some people to take a more measured approach, new enquiries from prospective buyers are now at their highest since February. That should help sustain activity in the near term, with any movement in house prices likely to remain modest."
In corporate news, engineering firm IMI said it has agreed to buy iSMA Controlli, an Italian building‑automation specialist, in a deal valued at €63m, with the business set to join the group's climate control division.
IMI said the acquisition brings iSMA Controlli's open, scalable automation platform into its smart‑connected product offering, broadening the company's capabilities in monitoring and optimising commercial building performance.
It added that iSMA Controlli was expected to generate around €40m in revenues and €4.5m of operating profits in 2026.
Ten-pin bowling chain Hollywood Bowl said full-year revenue would hit a record £261m as a strong performance in Canada offset the UK's hottest ever summer which kept people at home.
Like-for-like sales in the UK fell 5.6% in the second half but rose 2.7% in Canada. Group sales on the same basis rose 1% for the year to 30 September, the company added in a trading statement.
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