London pre-open: Stocks seen down on weak Asian cues

London stocks were set to fall at the open on Monday following a downbeat session in Asia, as investors eyed policy announcements this week from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 10 points lower.

Investors will be mulling the latest data from Rightmove, which showed that new seller asking prices fell by 1.7% on the month in December following a 1.4% decline the month before.

On the year, prices were up 1.4% following 1.2% growth in November.

The average price of a home was £360,197 this month, versus £366,592 a month earlier.

Rightmove said that despite "the festive lull", activity remains "substantially" stronger than the same period a year ago, with the number of sales being agreed up 22%, and new buyer demand up 13%.

"This momentum is a good sign for another Boxing Day activity bounce," it said.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove director of property science, said: "New sellers in December have to work particularly hard to capture the attention of Xmas-party and festivity-distracted buyers, and the 1.7% average monthly fall is a fitting gift for those who are still buying homes rather than presents. Despite this monthly drop, prices have risen by 1.4% compared with this time in 2023, broadly in line with our prediction of a 1% rise in prices this year.

"We are now looking ahead to the traditional Rightmove Boxing Day bounce in home-mover activity, which has increasingly become a key date in the housing market calendar. Each year, our real-time data can pinpoint the exact moment that the turkey is finished, family games run out of steam, mobile devices are picked up, and prospective movers flood onto Rightmove and get their 2025 move started.

"If this year is anything like recent years, those early birds who get their search started the day after the festivities are over are likely to be rewarded with plenty of fresh property choice to consider."

In corporate news, Australia's financial crime regulator has commenced civil penalty proceedings against Entain Group related to alleged contraventions of an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing act.

Entain said that, judging by the fines handed out for similar cases in the past, the investigation "may result in a penalty being levied which could be potentially material".

Computacenter announced the immediate departure of Christian Jehle as its chief financial officer and an executive director by mutual agreement, with his responsibilities temporarily managed by the finance team and executive management until a successor is appointed.

The FTSE 250 company said Jehle would remain employed until 31 December to ensure a smooth transition, receiving his salary, pension, benefits, and potential bonus for the period, while his 2023 and 2024 PSP awards would lapse. It said its nomination committee would now lead the search for a new CFO.

GSK said the European Medicine Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended expanding the approval of its Jemperli drug in combination with chemotherapy for first-line treatment of all adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer who are candidates for systemic therapy.

The CHMP opinion is one of the final steps prior to a marketing authorisation decision by the European Commission, with an approval decision expected in the first quarter of 2025, the company said.