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21/08/24
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FTSE 100 Edges Higher in London Before Fed Meeting Minutes
On Wednesday, the FTSE 100 in London closed slightly higher, as traders were still cautious before the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes for July and speeches by policymakers this week, while the pound hovered close to one-year highs as midcap stocks surged.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.1%, after recording its worst day since August 5 in the prior session. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index inched up 1%. The pound was steady on Wednesday close to the one-year high it reached versus the dollar yesterday, with the dollar under pressure from increasing expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Investors evaluated a downward revision in U.S. payrolls data, while the focus has now turned to the release of minutes from the Fed’s July policy meeting, at which Chair Jerome Powell indicated a rate cut might be possible in Sept.
The market will look for clues on the rate of monetary policy easing after mixed U.S. economic data recently.
Sectoral gains were led by the chemicals index which gained 2.2%, supported by a 4.4% rise in Elementis after Barclays increased the specialty chemicals stock from “equal weight” to “overweight” and hiked its price target.
The beverages index followed with a gain of 2%, as spirits maker Diageo added 2%.
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