London pre-open: Stocks seen down as investors mull GDP, house price data

The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 10 points.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that the economy grew less than initially thought in the second quarter of the year.

GDP grew 0.5% in the three months to June, down from a previous estimate of 0.6% growth.

Elsewhere, the latest survey from Nationwide revealed that house prices grew at their fastest annual rate in two years in September.

Price rose 3.2% on the year following 2.4% growth in August and marking the fastest pace of growth since November 2022.

On the month, prices increased 0.7% in September following a 0.2% decline the month before.

The average price of a house stood at £266,094 in September, versus £265,375 a month earlier.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "Income growth has continued to outstrip house price growth in recent months while borrowing costs have edged lower amid expectations that the Bank of England will continue to lower interest rates in the coming quarters.

"These trends have helped to improve affordability for prospective buyers and underpinned a modest increase in activity and house prices, though both remain subdued by historic standards."

In corporate news, mining technology group Weir said it had won a £25m contract to provide services on the next phase of OCP’s Benguerir and Louta greenfield phosphate projects in Morocco.

The order will support the continued construction of the Louta project and the trebling of production from the Benguerir project, where Weir has previously provided similar separation and desliming solutions, the company said.

QinetiQ announced that it has agreed to sell its 407-acre freehold site at Cody Technology Park to a fund managed by Tristan Capital Partners for £112m, retaining a 15-year lease on the portion it occupies.

The FTSE 250 firm said the transaction was expected to improve its net debt by about £65m, with minimal impact on underlying operating profit and cash flow.

However, a one-off non-cash accounting loss of around £30m will be recognised on completion due to IFRS 16 lease accounting adjustments.