London pre-open: Stocks seen flat as investors eye Fed announcement

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a steady open on Wednesday following a record close in the previous session, as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve.

The FTSE 100 was called to open flat at 9696.

Danske Bank said: "The main event today will be the FOMC's rate decision, where we and the broad market consensus expect a 25bp cut. With no new projections, all eyes will be on Powell's forward guidance, which we expect to remain vague.

"While markets price in a high likelihood of another cut in December, we do not expect the Fed to pre-commit at this stage. We expect the Fed to end QT for US Treasury holdings but continue QT for MBS."

Overnight, US President Trump and Chinese President Xi are due to meet on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea.

"The agenda is packed, given recent escalations including China's export controls on rare earths and Trump's tariff threats," Danske said. "We expect the two leaders to strike a deal to ease tensions, however, failure to reach an agreement could trigger a negative reaction in risk markets."

In corporate news, retailer Next lifted its full-year pre-tax profit guidance by �30m to �1.13bn following improved third-quarter trading.

The company said full price sales had risen 10.5% year-on-year in the 13 weeks ended 25 October, ahead of guidance for a more modest 4.5% increase.

UK sales were up 5.4%, lower than the 7.6% growth achieved in the first half, while overseas sales rose 38.8%, ahead of 28.1% in H1.

Luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda posted a third-quarter loss of �112m on the back of lower-than-expected wholesale volumes as a result of US tariffs.

The loss before tax for the three months to 30 September compared with a loss of �12.2m a year ago.

Total wholesale volumes fell 13% to 1,430 vehicles as reported three weeks ago when the company issued a profits warning.