7.28am: House price data mixed
House prices fell 0.1% month-on-month in August, according to monthly data logged by Nationwide Building Society.
The house price index dropped back on a seasonally adjusted basis when it was expected to inch up 0.1% after rising 0.5% in July.
Compared to a year ago, the index was up 2.1%, following a 2.4% rise in July.
"The relatively subdued pace of house price growth is perhaps understandable, given that affordability remains stretched relative to long-term norms," says Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardner.
"House prices are still high compared to household incomes, making raising a deposit challenging for prospective buyers, especially given the intense cost of living pressures in recent years.
"Combined with the fact that mortgage costs are more than three times the levels prevailing in the wake of the pandemic, this means that the cost of servicing a mortgage is also a barrier for many."
He said affordability "should continue to improve gradually" if income growth continues to outpace house price growth, though the path for borrowing costs depends on the Bank of England.
7.15am: FTSE 100 set for tentative start
The FTSE 100 will start September trading with the handbrake on, with US markets closed for the 'Labor Day' holiday but manufacturing PMI data out later.
Futures markets are predicting a flat start for the London index, which last closed at 9,187.34, finishing last week down more than 29 points on Friday, losing just under 122 points over the week.
This meant that over the whole month of August, the Footsie gained around 119 points, climbing 1.3% and setting a number of record highs, but finishing with a whimper.
US stocks also finished lower at the end of last week. The pull-back overnight came amidst "signs of exhaustion going into a seasonally weak month of September", said market analyst Kyle Rodda at Capital.com.
"The sell-off was led by tech stocks as questions persist about valuations and heavy concentration.
"Unlike recent market dynamics, the drop in tech stocks wasn't offset by a rotation into cyclicals. The moves could be a symptom of end of month flows."
Last week also ended with a US federal appeals court upholding earlier rulings that questioned the legality of Donald Trump's tariffs.
Asian markets are mixed this morning, with Japan's Nikkei down 1.3% but the Hang Seng up almost 2% and India's Nifty 50 rebounding 0.5%.
This followed the meeting between China's President Xi Jinping and India's PM Narendra Modi at a weekend summit in Shanghai alongside leaders from Russia, Iran and Turkey.
"The meeting focused on strengthening ties among emerging markets in the face of what participants described as aggressive US trade policies," says analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank.