London stocks edge up in anticipation of ECB rate cut
British equities rose on ECB rate cut expectations, with Antofagasta and John Wood Group seeing gains. Investors await Christine Lagarde's remarks and Bank of England's upcoming meeting.
British equities opened higher on Thursday, buoyed by expectations of a rate cut by the , while mining firm added to the gains.By 7:07 GMT, the blue-chip edged up 0.1% to 8,258.58 points, poised for a second consecutive day of gains, while the pound held steady at $1.2796.
The mid-cap was up 0.3%.
Investors await the ECB's monetary policy decision, due at 1215 GMT, while remarks from the central bank's president, , will be scrutinized for clues on the interest rate trajectory.
On Wednesday, the led the charge among G7 nations by initiating its rate easing cycle.
The is poised to align closely with the ECB's forthcoming rate action. Britain's central bank is scheduled to convene in two weeks.
Among individual stocks, surged 9% after the oilfield services and engineering firm said its board has decided to engage with Sidara on a sweetened takeover proposal.
Antofagasta was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 with a 2.5% jump after the miner signed a $1.5 billion investment deal to improve water supply at its Chile mining operations.
and were the top losers on the benchmark index as it traded without entitlement to its latest dividend payouts.
Source: Stocks-Markets-Economic Times
