FTSE in deficit ahead of bank interest rate decision

The FTSE 100 closed again on Wednesday as it continued its recent pullback from its four-year high in mid-January.

The index fell 10.59 points to end the day at 7,761.11. He fell just over 0.1% on the impact of the pharma giant. AstraZeneca and some of the world’s largest mining companies.

The drop occurred as traders turned to interest rate decisions. US Federal Reserve Systemand the Bank of England to report at noon on Thursday.

Banks are widely expected to raise the base rate to 4% from the current 3.5%, but many believe this could be one of the last big hikes for decision makers to vote for. increase.

Negative trading was also seen on the other side of the pond, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% and the Dow Jones down 0.8% shortly after European markets closed.

“The action-packed schedule for the second half of the week provided a reason to take risk off the table as investors await a Fed decision and then other key data to follow Thursday and Friday. Chief Market Analyst at Platform IG.

“Caution is the watchword today, and it could be tomorrow and Friday as well.

“Friday’s Fed hawks and tech slump will be the right catalyst for a stock market crash, but bulls will be hoping for good news to back up the new rally.”

FTSE, Vodafone, anglo american When Rio Tinto All degraded index performance. It is just over 100 points away from the all-time high, but it seems that it has not been able to clear the hurdle recently.

Things have gotten better in Europe. The Frankfurt Dachs Index rose 0.4% and the Cac 40 in Paris rose 0.7%.

The pound has fallen slightly and could buy at just over $1.23 or just under €1.13 by the end of the day.

In company news, Vodafone’s share price fell 1.8% after Vodafone said service revenue had fallen after facing difficult times in several European countries.

Boss Margherita della Valle said the company “can do better” and told shareholders more price increases were planned. The business is also pursuing plans to cut costs.

Meanwhile, Ladbrokes owner Entain said it had benefited from the World Cup in the winter and raised its profit forecast.

The business has won a record number of customers in the last three months of last year, the company said. stock increased by 1.5%.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said its shingles vaccine would boost sales by nearly a fifth in 2022, but its shares remained virtually unchanged, down 0.2%.

The vaccine itself accounted for about £1 for every £10 of the company’s sales, with China and Germany proving to be strong markets.

The biggest FTSE 100 risers were Segro, up 19.8p to 850p, Smiths Group, up 38.5p to 1,765.5p, 3i, up 35p to 1,610p, Ocado, up 14.2p to 660.2p, and RS Group. increased by 17.5p. Up to 957.5p.

The biggest declines in the FTSE 100 were AstraZeneca down 310p to 10,280p, Anglo American down 79.5p to 3,387p, Abrdn down 5p to 208.1p and Vodafone down 2p to 91.18p. Compass Group fell 37p to 1,894.5p. p.