(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged up in early trade on Thursday as investors mulled the first rate cut from Federal Reserve this year and looked ahead to the latest policy announcement from the Bank of England.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.1% higher at 9,214.81.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 edged higher at the open after breaking a three-day losing streak yesterday, with the Bank of England's rate decision firmly in focus.
"The Bank of England is widely expected to hold rates at 4% today, with markets pricing a 97% chance of no change. August's narrow 5-4 vote to cut has likely shifted to a stronger hold majority as sticky services inflation and rising food prices keep policymakers cautious. With UK inflation at 3.8% and likely to tick higher before easing next year, the path to further cuts looks slow.
"The Fed's 25bp cut landed as expected, but the dot plot stole the show - pointing to another 50bp of easing this year, even as policymakers remain miles apart on the path forward. Inflation is still sticky, jobs are cooling, and the committee now faces a delicate balancing act as its two mandates (jobs and inflation) pull in opposite directions. The S&P 500 closed flat, but futures are flashing green this morning as investors bet that, for now, rate cuts are a tailwind worth chasing."
The BoE policy announcement is due at midday.
In equity markets, Next tumbled as cautious outlook for the second half outweighed a surge in first-half sales and earnings, as the high street retailer was boosted by bumper international sales, sunny weather and disruption at Marks & Spencer.
Associated British Foods was also in the red after the Competition and Markets Authority issued a preliminary 'invitation to comment' to allow interested parties to submit "any initial views on the impact that the transaction could have on competition in the UK".
Pets at Home tanked as it announced the immediate departure of chief executive Lyssa McGowan and downgraded its full-year underlying pre-tax profit guidance.
C&C Group fell as it said chief financial officer Andrew Andrea was leaving to take up the same role at Domino's Pizza and held full-year earnings guidance despite a "challenging" macroeconomic environment.
Centrica and Unite both lost ground as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
On the upside, Jupiter Fund Management surged after an upgrade to 'buy' at Peel Hunt.
Renishaw gained as the engineering company reported record full-year revenues, with adjusted profits rising despite ongoing macroeconomic pressures and restructuring costs.
Software and security firm Bytes Technology advanced after saying it had delivered a "resilient" performance in the six months ended 31 August, with trading substantially in line with expectations.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,214.81 0.07%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,617.87 -0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 5,393.30 0.17%
FTSE 100 - Risers
3i Group (III) 3,908.00p 2.01%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,135.00p 1.79%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,196.00p 1.36%
ICG (ICG) 2,292.00p 1.33%
Experian (EXPN) 3,823.00p 1.22%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,125.00p 1.21%
Relx plc (REL) 3,493.00p 1.01%
Barclays (BARC) 382.55p 0.96%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,608.00p 0.93%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,164.00p 0.89%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Next (NXT) 11,290.00p -6.13%
Unite Group (UTG) 693.00p -2.53%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,967.00p -1.75%
Centrica (CNA) 166.35p -1.68%
WPP (WPP) 383.40p -1.67%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 318.60p -1.61%
Tesco (TSCO) 433.10p -1.50%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 90.92p -1.50%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 352.70p -1.43%
Diageo (DGE) 1,811.00p -1.39%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 138.80p 11.04%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 218.00p 4.81%
Inchcape (INCH) 690.00p 4.15%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,305.00p 3.44%
IP Group (IPO) 54.20p 2.65%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 414.80p 2.22%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 485.50p 1.46%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 426.50p 1.31%
Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE) 556.00p 1.28%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,715.00p 1.25%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 207.40p -9.19%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 155.40p -3.84%
AO World (AO.) 92.30p -3.65%
Elementis (ELM) 156.00p -3.58%
Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 454.00p -2.89%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 357.20p -2.72%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,097.00p -2.58%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 304.80p -2.50%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,734.00p -2.43%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 223.00p -2.06%
19.74 (0.21%)
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