European stock markets started Thursday in the red as UK house prices rose for a second month in a row.
In London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was trading 0.3% lower after opening, while the CAC (^FCHI) lost 0.2% in Paris. The Frankfurt DAX (^GDAXI) was also 0.2% lower, retreating from its record high on Wednesday.
The STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was 0.3% down at the time of writing.
“The outperformance on European markets appears to be being driven by the increasing belief that the European Central Bank may well be forced into cutting rates sharply in the early part of 2024 in response to sharply slowing inflation and a sclerotic economy,” Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said.
“The last few days has seen a sharp decline in bond yields reflecting an increasing belief on the part of investors that rather than higher for longer, central banks will start cutting rates as soon as Q2 next year.
“The shift in tone has been most notable from several ECB policymakers who have indicated that rate hikes are done.”
It came as average UK property values climbed 0.5% to £283,615 in November, some £1,300 more than October, according to new figures from lender Halifax.
It was the second monthly gain in a row after six consecutive falls before that. This was thanks to a shortage of properties available on the market and some mortgage relief.
Read more: Trending tickers: AMD | Rivian | C3.ai | Frasers
However, it was still a 1% drop compared with the same time a year ago, and a steep fall from the 3.1% decline in the year to October.
Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said: “The resilience seen in house prices during 2023 continues to be underpinned by a shortage of properties available, rather than any significant strengthening of buyer demand.”
She added: “With mortgage rates starting to ease slightly, this may be leading to increased buyer confidence, seeing people more inclined to push ahead with their home purchases.”
-
South East Water suffers £3m hit from heatwaves and supply interruptions
South East Water suffered a £3m hit from summer heatwaves and supply interruptions, it has revealed.
The supplier reported pre-tax losses of £18.1m for the six months to 30 September, against losses of £12.7m a year earlier.
Meanwhile costs surged over the period, with a £3m bill for a summer of water interruptions, as well as £1.5m in compensation, and £700,000 for providing bottled water to households and customers.
South East Water which is currently under investigation by regulator Ofwat over its service to customers and record in maintaining a water supply. It is the worst performer for water supply interruptions in England and Wales, according to Ofwat.
It comes just days after troubled rival Thames Water announced a £37.5m dividend to its parent company – with the payout being probed by Ofwat over concerns it may have broken rules designed to protect customers and the environment.
-
One in six consider skipping festivities due to cost of living crisis
New data from Plum released today has shown that people are feeling the financial squeeze this Christmas, with two out of three changing plans due to increased costs, and one in six considering skipping festivities altogether.
The findings found…
62% of Brits are making changes this Christmas due to the cost of living
Nearly a quarter of Brits (24%) will use a credit card to fund Christmas
Brits will cut out champagne from Christmas dinner to save money
On average, British people spend £655.20 on their Christmas celebrations. However, less than half save ahead for the festivities, with just 43% in the UK having set money aside specifically for Christmas.
This year, the country is facing a significant financial squeeze, with around 70% saying they have noticed price increases for Christmas groceries.
Eating out at Christmas was the second most notable financial increase, with more than half of those surveyed (51%) noticing it has become more expensive, followed by Christmas drinks (49%).
-
Where are house prices rising the most?
Prices went up the most in Northern Ireland, with values increasing by 2.3% on an annual basis to an average £189,684 — £4,294 higher than the same time last year.
Properties in Scotland flattened over the last year, with the average house in the country costing the same (£203,116) as a year before.
Wales recorded one of the lowest annual drops at -1.5%, with homes selling for an average of £215,787 in November.
At the other end of the scale, property prices in the South East fell most sharply when compared to other UK regions over the last year, falling by 5.7% to £373,943 — a drop of £22,702.
London retained the number one spot for the highest average house price in the UK, at £524,592, though prices in the capital have now fallen by 3.8%.
Region
Average price
Annual % change
East Midlands
£232,776
-4.4%
Eastern England
£322,230
-5%
London
£524,592
-3.8%
North East
£168,666
-2.6%
North West
£223,036
-2.1%
Northern Ireland
£189,684
2.3%
Scotland
£203,116
0%
South East
£373,943
-5.7%
South West
£291,902
-5%
Wales
£215,787
-1.5%
West
Midlands
£243,655
-3.3%
Yorkshire
and the Humber
£202,391
-2.1%
-
UK house prices rise in November
House prices Traditional brick terraced houses in London. Photo: PA/Alamy UK house prices rose for the second month in a row in November, driven by a shortage of properties available on the market and some mortgage relief.
Average UK house prices climbed 0.5% to £283,615, some £1,300 more than in October, according to new figures from lender Halifax.
It was the second monthly gain in a row after six consecutive falls before that.
However, it was still a 1% drop compared with November a year ago, a steep fall from the 3.1% decline in the year to October.
Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said:
The resilience seen in house prices during 2023 continues to be underpinned by a shortage of properties available, rather than any significant strengthening of buyer demand.
With mortgage rates starting to ease slightly, this may be leading to increased buyer confidence, seeing people more inclined to push ahead with their home purchases.
-
US job claims in focus today
Yesterday’s US ADP payrolls report saw jobs growth in November slow to 103,000, in a further sign that the labour market is slowing.
This trend was also reflected in this week’s fall in October job openings to 8.7m the lowest level since March 2021.
Michael Hewson of CMC Markets said:
For the time being weekly jobless claims have shown little signs of increasing, trending in the low 210k for the last couple of months. Continuing claims on the other hand have been edging higher rising to a 2-year high last week 1.93m.
Today’s claims numbers are expected to come in at 220k, with continuing claims set to also remain steady, ahead of tomorrow’s eagerly anticipated non-farm payrolls report.
It comes as US markets appear to have started to run out of steam after their big November rally, as traders take stock of how resilient the US economy is.
-
Asia and US stocks
Shares in Asia fell overnight, following a retreat on Wall Street, as crude oil prices slipped on expectations that supply might outpace demand.
The Nikkei (^N225) slumped 1.8% on the day in Japan, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) finished 0.7% lower in Hong Kong on renewed heavy selling of technology and property shares.
The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was just 0.1% down by the end of the session.
It came as China reported that its exports rose 0.5% in November, the first year-on-year month of increase since April, but that imports fell.
Across the pond, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.4% to 4,549.34 in its third straight loss though the index remains near its best level in 20 months.
The Dow Jones (^DJI) dropped 0.2% to 36,054.43, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) index fell 0.6% to 14,146.71.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds fell 6 basis points to 4.112% after hitting a fresh 3-month low of 4.106%, suggesting the bond market is anticipating a weak jobs report on Friday.
-
Coming up
Good morning, and welcome to our live markets blog. Stay tuned to find out all the latest with what’s moving markets and happening across the global economy.
Here’s a quick look at what’s on the agenda for today…
7am: Trading updates: Frasers Group, Moonpig, AJ Bell, Bloomsbury, Games Workshop
7am: Halifax House Price Index
7am: Industrial Production (Germany)
10am: Eurozone GDP third estimate
1:30pm: US initial jobless claims, continuing claims
Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
