The UK’s FTSE 100 was flat on Wednesday, with gains in personal care stocks offset by losses in miners, while investors awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s December meeting to gauge the future path of global interest rates.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was flat, while the midcap FTSE 250 index slipped 0.2%. The benchmark index marked 40 years on Wednesday.
Personal care, drug and grocery stores sector was the top gainer, rising 1.3% to hit a two-month high.
In contrast, industrial metal miners slid 1.7% following a drop in copper prices, weighed by a strong U.S. dollar and soft demand in top consumer China.
British business leaders have grown increasingly pessimistic about the country’s economic outlook and are hesitating to make investment decisions, according to the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) confidence index.
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“The IOD is now calling for an early rate cut, given the pessimistic outlook. There are hopes such a move could help jump-start the flagging engine of growth,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The yield on the British 10-year benchmark note rose 3 basis points to 3.674%, tracking its U.S. peers.
Meanwhile, German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl, No. 2 player Sainsbury’s and market leader Tesco were the biggest winners among British supermarkets at Christmas, according to industry data.
Shares of Sainsbury’s and Tesco were up 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.
Entain topped the FTSE 100, with a 2.1% jump, after the sports betting company appointed Eminence Capital founder Ricky Sandler as a non-executive director on its board.
GSK Plc gained 2.0% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to “Buy” from “Hold,” and hiked its price target.
All eyes will be on the Fed’s December meeting minutes, due at 1900 GMT, to glean more insights into when the U.S. central bank might start interest rate cuts.
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