London’s FTSE 100 opened lower on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision later in the day, with softer-than-expected domestic inflation data cementing bets of interest rate cuts this year from the Bank of England.
The blue chip FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% as of 0817 GMT, as markets keenly awaited Fed decision that could potentially set the tone for global central banks.
Supporting market sentiment, Britain’s inflation stood at 3.4% in February, slightly below economists’ expectations of 3.5%, according to a Reuters poll, ahead of the BoE’s monetary policy update on Thursday.
Money markets have priced in about 70 basis points of rate cuts for this year, up from around 67 bps prior to the data release.
The rate-sensitive homebuilders index was among the top sectoral performers, rising 0.7%.
FTSE 100 inches up on Unilever boost; inflation data awaited
The mid cap FTSE 250 was up 0.1%, with Johnson Matthey among the top performers, surging 6.2% following the firm’s announcement that it will sell its medical device components business to Montagu Private Equity for $700 million.
Burberry fell 5%, tracking a fall in European luxury goods group Kering, which warned about a potential sales drop in the first quarter.
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