Stocks in London are expected to open slightly lower on Thursday, following the FTSE 100’s record close the previous session, as investors turn their attention to key interest rate decisions in the UK and eurozone.
Futures point to the FTSE 100 will open around 14.8 points lower, down 0.1%, at 10,387.54. On Wednesday, the index rose 87.75 points, or 0.9%, to finish at a new all-time closing high of 10,402.34.
Interest rate decisions from both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will dominate today’s agenda.
Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, expects the BoE to keep Bank Rate unchanged at 3.75%, likely in a 6–3 vote, while maintaining guidance that further cuts could come if inflation continues to cool. He added that updated forecasts may show inflation returning to the 2% target this spring, laying the groundwork for a potential reduction as soon as March.
Wall Street closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow up 0.5%, the S&P 500 down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq down 1.5%.
Asian markets were broadly weaker on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.9%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.6%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.2%. Australia’s ASX 200 was down 0.4%.
In currency markets, sterling eased to $1.3615 early Thursday from $1.3656 at Wednesday’s London close. The euro also edged lower to $1.1790, while the dollar strengthened slightly against the yen to ¥156.88.
Commodity markets were steadier. Gold traded slightly higher at $4,924.40 an ounce, while Brent crude rose to $68.13 a barrel.
On the UK corporate calendar, telecoms group BT reports third-quarter results, Vodafone issues a trading statement, Anglo American provides an update, and Shell releases full-year results.
