By Sruthi Shankar and Shristi Achar A
(Reuters) -The UK’s FTSE 100 fell on Wednesday ahead of an interest rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve, while investors also grappled with concerns around a slowing British economy and mixed corporate updates.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed the session 0.1% lower.
The healthcare sector was the biggest drag on the internationally-focussed index as shares of drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc fell 2.9%.
Meanwhile the midcap FTSE 250 rose 0.2%, helped by gains in some consumer and financial stocks.
The Fed is expected to deliver a 25 basis point rate hike at 1900 GMT, but investor focus will be on the central bank’s commentary for clues on future tightening plans.
“Even if the Fed does halt rate hikes in the near future, the federal funds rate is likely to remain at its terminal position for an extended period until the rate of inflation recedes substantially,” said Richard Flynn, UK managing director at Charles Schwab.
Glencore slipped 0.2% after the London-listed miner said its copper production fell 12% in 2022, while Anglo American dropped 2.3% after it reported lower diamond sales.
Metal miners were down 1.1%.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to hike rates by 50 bps each on Thursday.
“Markets are reassessing the impact of what the interest rate hikes in 2022 have done to the economy,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
“We’ve seen in recent days the outlook for growth in the UK (was) downgraded as one of the worst economies expected to perform in 2023.”
Among single stocks, ITV rose 2.2% after Reuters reported veteran Hollywood producer Peter Chernin and French TV production group Banijay’s parent had expressed interest in the British broadcaster’s Studios unit.
Vodafone fell 2.1% after the mobile and broadband operator reported a steeper-than expected slowdown in its third quarter.
Darktrace shares added 4.4% after the cybersecurity firm announced share buybacks, a day after a short-seller report knocked its shares by as much as 10%.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng, Sriraj Kalluvila and Barbara Lewis)
