UK's latest house price rise boosts property stock performance as sterling pulls back slightly as investors wait for tomorrow On Tuesday, the FTSE 100 held steady. The FTSE100, the index of large-cap stocks, fell 0.078 per cent to 7,412.00, while the FTSE 250, the reference for small- and mid-cap stocks, rose 0.12 per cent to 17,768.20 points.

European stocks were modestly volatile. The CAC, the French stock index, fell 0.37 per cent to 6,988.11, Germany s DAX gained 0.11 per cent to 15,152.64 and the EUROSTOXX50 fell 0.13 per cent to 4,153.37.

In the U.K., (Halifax) U.K. house prices rose in October, ending a six-month streak of declines, according to lender Halifax.

The data showed that the average house price rose 15.1 per cent in October compared to September although house prices eased by 3.2 per cent compared to the same month last year. Halifax head of mortgages Kinnaird said a cautious approach by potential sellers had led to a lack of property supply, supporting house prices in the short term. But she said the long-term trend was for house prices to continue to fall this year and next, with growth not returning until 2025.

On the currency front, the pound had lost 05.50 per cent against the dollar by the close of trading, trading around 1.2280. Huw Pill, chief economist at the Bank of England, said that although the market now expects the Bank of England to cut interest rates in mid-2024, global events

On the stock market, the fall in oil prices led to a drop in the share prices of BP (LSE:BP) and Shell (LSE:SHEL) today The US stock prices fell by 2.23 per cent and 1.68 per cent Some analysts explained that the main reason for the continued fall in oil prices this week was China Weak economic data from the United States triggered concerns in the market about the supply of crude oil.

Positive financial performance from property developer Persimmon (Model LSE:PSN) drove the performance of property construction stocks today, in response to an unexpected rise in house prices in the latest release from lender Halifax. Persimmon reported an increase in its sales for October, with the number of homes it expects to complete revised upwards to 9,500 from 9,000 previously.

Its peers Barrett Developments BarrattDevelopments (LSE:BDEV) and also Taylor Wimpey (LSE:TW) saw their share prices rise by 25.7% and 1.7% today

Electronic distributor RSGroupPLC (LSE:RS1) company The US reported a 1% fall in its total revenue to £1.45bn, a 21% fall in adjusted operating profit to £156m and a drop in operating margin from 13.4% to 10.8% These depressing financials led to a sharp decline in the company's share price fell in early trading but closed up 25.17 per cent

Associated British Food Association (LSE:ABF) Today, shares rose 6.70% As the owner of department store brand Primark, it delivered strong double-digit revenue and profit growth in its last financial year and announced plans to pay shareholders an additional £500 million in dividends.