LONDON: Britain's FTSE 100 index was expected to open higher on Wednesday, with heavyweight mining shares seen supported by stronger metals prices and as gold hovered near a lifetime high.
Retailers will also be in the spotlight, with a Marks and Spencer trading update expected to show its first fall in underlying quarterly sales in six quarters, as customers feel the pinch from austerity measures.
The blue-chip index looked set to gain 13-20 points, or as much as 0.3 percent, according to financial bookmakers, after falling 0.2 percent to 6,007.06 on Tuesday.
Copper prices rose as the market shrugged off a rate hike by China, while gold held near a lifetime high on lingering worries over inflation.
"Another rate hike by the Chinese has done little to dampen spirits either with mining stocks likely to be in the spotlight amidst that record for gold," said Chris Weston, institutional trader at IG Markets.
Trading on the London market was expected to be cautious as traders awaited a policy decision from the Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday.
The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee has been split in recent months about whether to raise interest rates, with a majority keen to gauge the strength of the recovery in the first quarter before acting. Only one of 67 economists polled by Reuters expected the BoE to raise rates this Thursday.
The market was reassured after minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers were less hawkish than some had expected, with a number of policymakers believing the Fed would have to hold on to an easy monetary policy course beyond this year while a few said the central bank should move to tighter conditions before year-end.
On the economic front, investors will focus on Halifax house prices figures for March at 0700 GMT and February's industrial output data at 0830 GMT.
British shop price inflation slowed in March as grocers offered discounts on food, a survey showed on Wednesday, providing some relief to consumers hard-pressed by rising taxes and higher fuel prices.
British recruiters, led by the private sector, reported rising numbers of job vacancies and higher starting salaries for permanent staff in March, a survey showed.
Ex-dividend factors will knock 0.96 point off the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, with Pearson and Wolseley trading without their payout attractions.
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