Economic news

Mining Stocks Buoy FTSE 100; BoE Policy Forum in Focus

  • FTSE 100 up 0.4%, FTSE 250 adds 0.5%
  • BOE policy forum at 1100 GMT
  • Saga cuts profit forecast on inflationary woes
  • Biffa to be taken over in bln $1.4 bln deal

Sept 27 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 edged higher on Tuesday, lifted by miners, while investors looked ahead to a statement from the Bank of England's chief economist for further details on the central bank's response to the recent market turmoil.

The blue-chip index rose 0.4% by 0817 GMT, while the domestically-focused midcap index FTSE 250 gained 0.5% after three straight days of declines.

Sterling, too, rebounded after a battering that began on Friday when markets were spooked by Britain's gambit of relying on unfunded tax cuts to spur growth, which also sent short-term gilt yields up 100 bps in two days.

All eyes are now on a policy forum scheduled at 1100 GMT where the BoE's chief economist, Huw Pill, is expected to talk about central bank's response to the recent turmoil.

"I'm expecting more reassuring by the Bank of England but not any news of any action," said Giles Coghlan, chief market analyst at HYCM.

"The bank will want to think very carefully before it acts and will only want to take a move that will really be assured will work. Hiking interest rates now won't necessarily prop up the pound for long."

Former BoE Deputy Governor Charlie Bean said he would likely have advised the central bank to call an emergency meeting, and that the lesson of emergency interventions was "you go big, and you go fast".

Mining stocks advanced 1.5%, tracking metal prices as a softer dollar made the greenback-priced metal cheaper to holders of other currencies.

Biffa Plc surged 28.3% after the British waste-management company agreed to be taken over by private equity firm Energy Capital Partners (ECP) in a 1.3-billion-pound ($1.41 billion) deal.

Burberry Group gained 2.4% after rating agency Moody's changed its outlook on the luxury company to 'positive' from 'stable'.

Saga Plc plunged 13.6% after the company cut its full-year profit forecast and reported a loss for the first half of the year.

Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty

Source: Reuters


To leave a comment you must or Join us


More news


Back to economic news list

By visiting our website and services, you agree to the conditions of use of cookies. Learn more
I agree