BUSINESS LIVE: FTSE ticks higher; Oil prices are falling; House prices are seeing their biggest decline since 2008

Norway's largest pension fund has blacklisted Gulf companies over human rights abuses including state surveillance and the treatment of migrant workers.

KLP said yesterday it will boycott companies in the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, where it said migrant workers have faced human rights abuses.

The fund manager, which has £55 billion in assets under management, also targeted Gulf telecoms companies over concerns they have suppressed freedom of expression.

Sophie Lund-Yates, chief equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:

'There isn't too much celebration for UK shares on the last trading day of 2023. The FTSE 100 has barely made a move in early trading, with news of sluggish house price growth in December further reinforcing the theory of slowing activity.

'There is a particularly strong look at consumer-facing stocks: we are just a few weeks away from seeing how retailers fared over the crucial Christmas period. Short sellers are circling some parts of the sector waiting for bad news.

'A combination of the fact that life is becoming more expensive and the prevalence of online options means that the momentum has become even harder for the brick-and-mortar players to capture.

'The FTSE is also suffering from an information vacuum, which is normal for this time of year but makes it difficult to find its feet. So far, it looks like the FTSE 100 will have gone largely sideways this year, thanks in large part to the extreme uncertainty and upward interest margin.

'The questions now naturally turn to next year's trajectory, and there is a good chance that inflation will remain stubbornly above the Bank of England's target, potentially making meaningful rate cuts an external option.'

House prices at the end of 2023 will be 1.8 percent lower than a year ago, according to the latest figures from Nationwide Building Society.

It means the typical British house is now worth £259,157; almost 4.5 percent below the all-time high in late summer 2022.

Although Britain's largest housing association recorded no change in the average house price compared to this time last month, this was due to seasonal adjustment.

The FTSE 100 is on track for a quiet end to 2023, with low trading volumes marking the final session of the year.

The blue cip index is set for a weekly gain, with industrial metal mines leading higher copper prices, while a decline in energy stocks limits momentum.

For the year, the FTSE 100 added more than 3.7 percent for the third consecutive annual gain.

The FTSE 250 is up about 4.5 percent this year.

Industrial metals mines rose 0.5 percent, while copper prices rose as the prospect of US interest rate cuts brightened the outlook for the metals.

Heavy oil and gas stocks are down 0.1 percent but are expected to post annual gains of more than 4.6 percent.

In business news, shares of iron ore pellet maker Ferrexpo rose almost 5 percent after the company published a year-end report.