FTSE preview: Shares up: Barclays & rates
The FTSE 100 is seen opening up in tandem with gains on Wall Street and in Asia and ahead of Barclays results and the latest decision on interest rates at noon.
Green light: Shares should rise today.
Investor attention in London is likely to be on another swathe of corporate results, including earnings from blue chips Barclays, Rio Tinto and Unilever, as well as the monthly interest rate announcement from the Bank of England.
The UK blue chip index closed down 10.32 points, or 0.2% on Wednesday at 5,386.16, having bounced back from a mid-session low of 5,318.7 in the afternoon as Wall Street posted modest gains after some reassuring US data.
US stocks closed higher in thin trade on Wednesday as retailers' earnings and a report showing a slight improvement in private employment boosted optimism ahead of Friday's payrolls report.
Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday also helped by some solid corporate earnings, including from Toyota Motor and chipmaker UMC.
No change in monetary policy is expected from the Bank of England when it announces its interest rate decision.
Severe UK budget cuts and the possibility of slower growth ahead will force the Bank of England to wait until the second quarter of 2011 to raise interest rates, according to a Reuters poll of 61 economists.
The European Central Bank will also make its latest interest rate announcement with no change expected either.
Ahead of those interest rate decisions, no important British economic data will be released on Thursday, so investors' attention will be on the latest US weekly jobless claims, a key indicator ahead of Friday's always-important US monthly jobs report.
BP can pump cement into its blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil well to begin sealing the leak for good, the US official in charge of the spill said on Wednesday.
Royal Dutch Shell has won authorization from a federal judge to conduct limited tasks on its now-disputed leases in the remote region off Alaska's northwestern coast.
Debenhams is considering unlocking the value of its property portfolio in order to generate fresh capital, with the department store group is considering a 25-year sale and lease-back deal, among other options, and is understood to have held discussions with property specialist King Sturge about running the process, The Independent said.
There will be first half results from Rio Tinto, Barclays, Unilever, RSA Insurance, Aviva, Schroders, Smith & Nephew, Cobham, Ladbrokes, Millenium & Copthorne and Capital Shopping Centres.
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