FTSE 100 Live 07 October: Index seen higher, house prices continue to rise

The week ahead includes the release of US inflation figures on Thursday and the start of Wall Street's third quarter earnings season.

JPMorgan Chase is scheduled to report on Friday, with PepsiCo in the spotlight tomorrow and Delta Air Lines on Thursday.

Deutsche Bank expects S&P 500 earnings growth to slow to 9% from 11.8% in the second quarter, driven by a narrow group of sectors such as energy and mega cap growth and tech stocks.

Its forecast for US inflation shows a decline in the annual rate to 2.3% from 2.5% the previous month, with the core staying around the same level at 3.2%.

In the UK, Imperial Brands posts an update tomorrow before CMC Markets and Hays later in the week.

The average house price recorded by lender Halifax rose by 0.3% in September, matching August's increase to leave the year-on-year figure up by 4.7%.

Halifax head of mortgages Amanda Bryden said: "Market conditions have steadily improved over the summer and into early autumn.

"This has boosted confidence among potential buyers, with the number of mortgages agreed up over 40% in the last year and now at their highest level since July 2022."

Wall Street markets finished last week on the front foot after monthly jobs figures boosted hopes of a soft landing for the US economy.

Non-farm payrolls increased by 254,000 in September, compared with forecasts for the addition of about 150,000 jobs.

The update, which reduced the chance of another half point cut in interest rates, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close 0.8% higher on Friday.

The S&P 500 index lifted 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite by 1.2% to leave leading US benchmarks marginally higher for the week.