FTSE 100 Live: House price growth slows, Brent crude continues to surge

RISES in interest rates have done little to take the steam out of the housing market so far – but Halifax predicts a slowdown later this year.

The bank’s latest index for January said house prices rose by 0.3% that month, the lowest increase since last June.

But house prices are still at record highs of £276,759 on average.

Last week the Bank of England put rates up and is expected to do so at least three more times this year as it fights to combat inflation.

Banks had already put up the cost of new mortgage deals. Experts say those two measures are sure to hit affordability and thereby reduce prices.

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TWO women CEOs were appointed today bolstering the number of females in charge at top UK businesses.

Taylor Wimpey has promoted Jennie Daly from operations director to the top job, replacing Pete Redfern, who has been in charge for 14 years. Taylor Wimpey also has a female chair in Irene Dorner.

And the new top dog at Pets at Home is Lyssa McGowan, poached from Sky where she was chief customer officer. She replaces the departing Peter Pritchard.

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The LV= ownership saga is back in the spotlight after Royal London said it has held “initial exploratory discussions” over a potential tie-up.

Its renewed interest in the 179-year-old mutual insurer comes after private equity suitor Bain failed to get support for a takeover at a special meeting in December.

Royal London said it continues to believe there's an attractive future for members of LV= as part of a “growing and well-capitalised mutual”.

The update came as LV= announced an overhaul of its board, with three non-executive directors and chairman Alan Cook set to leave in the coming weeks. Current board member Seamus Creedon becomes interim chair from April.

Shares in British Airways owner International Airlines Group are up 2% during another positive session for the wider London market.

Among the other stocks helping the FTSE 100 index to improve 17.33 points to 7533.73 were Next, Royal Mail and Lloyds Banking Group, with gains of more than 1%.

Energy giants BP and Shell fell back after their 3% surge on Friday and there was also weakness for stocks in the housebuilding sector, with Barratt Developments almost 2% lower.

The FTSE 250 index rose 61.35 points to 21,773.39, with British Gas owner Centrica up another 2% or 1.38p to 77.86p.

BP, AstraZeneca, Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline are among blue-chips reporting results this week.

One of the bosses most under pressure will be Unilever's Alan Jope, given the market's negative reaction to his unsuccessful swoop for Glaxo's consumer healthcare arm. As well as focusing on Jope's strategy, investors will want to see on Thursday how the Marmite and Dove company is coping with cost pressures.

BP's profits figures due tomorrow are expected to top $12 billion for the year, adding to the potential for share buybacks but doing little to dampen calls for a North Sea windfall tax.

Investors will also be looking out for Friday’s estimate of fourth quarter UK GDP, a day after figures in the US are expected to show a jump in US inflation to 7.3%.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has named Jennie Daly as its new chief executive.

She is currently the group’s operations director and will take on the top job at the end of April, replacing Pete Redfern who is leaving after 14 years in the role.

Daly has 30 years experience in the industry, having joined Taylor Wimpey in 2014 from Redrow where she was managing director of its Harrow Estates business. She will be paid a salary of £750,000.

Pets at Home also announced a new chief executive today, with Lyssa McGowan taking over from Peter Pritchard from June 1. She is the outgoing chief consumer officer at Sky UK.

A bumper US jobs report continues to boost stock market sentiment, with the FTSE 100 index forecast to open slightly higher today.

The better-than-expected non-farm payroll figures showed the US economy added 467,000 jobs in January, allaying fears of significant disruption from the Omicron variant.

After an initial wobble that the figures might mean the Federal Reserve takes swifter action on interest rates, the S&P and Nasdaq rallied to post their best week of the year.

Futures markets suggest that US markets will hold on to those gains when trading resumes later. Europe's key indices are also priced higher, with London's FTSE 100 forecast to improve 19 points to 7,535.

Oil prices, meanwhile, have extended their seven-week advance to stand at a new seven-year high of $93.54 a barrel.

Falling stockpiles and the failure of some OPEC+ members to meet production targets has lifted prices, benefiting energy giants BP and Shell in the process after their shares rose more than 3% on Friday.