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U.K. stocks are modestly higher on Thursday as investors await the Bank of England’s monetary policy announcement later in the day. Optimism about U.S. agreeing on a trade deal with a major country is also aiding sentiment. <\/p>\n
The BoE is widely expected to lower interest rates by 25 basis points amid fears of U.S. tariffs hitting domestic growth. <\/p>\n
Optimism on the trade front has increased after the U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would soon announce “a major trade deal with representatives of a big and highly respected country.”<\/p>\n
According to reports, Trump is likely to announce a framework of a trade deal with the U.K. Meanwhile, representatives of the U.S. and China are set to meet in Switzerland this weekend for trade talks.<\/p>\n
Investors are also digesting the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement. On Wednesday, the Fed held its interest rates and also warned of increasing risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation.<\/p>\n
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 36.45 points or 0.43% at 8,595.78 a few minutes before noon.<\/p>\n
IMI is gaining more than 5.5%. Mondi, Weir Group, Melrose Industries, Whitbread, Intermediate Capital Group, Spirax, JD Sports Fashion, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Scottish Mortgage and Polar Capital Technology Trust are up 3 to 4.2%.<\/p>\n
Associated British Foods, Ashtead Group, Antofagasta, Persimmon, Kingfisher, Barclays and Experian are gaining 2 to 3%.<\/p>\n
Airtel Africa is down 7.4% despite turnaround results. The telecommunications and mobile money services company reported full year 2025 profit -before-tax of $661 million compared with pre-tax loss of $63 million last year. Earnings per share for the full year were 6 cents versus loss per share of 4.4 cents last year. <\/p>\n
Centrica is declining more than 6%. Fresnillo, AstraZeneca, Vodafone Group, Rio Tinto, Severn Trent, Endeavour Mining, Imperial Brands and BT Group are down 1 to 3%.<\/p>\n
On the economic front, UK house prices rose moderately in April despite an end to the stamp duty holiday and worsening economic outlook, data published by mortgage lender Halifax revealed.<\/p>\n
House prices climbed 0.3% on a monthly basis in April after falling for two straight months. Prices were expected to grow 0.2%, following a 0.5% drop in March and a 0.2% decrease in February. On a yearly basis, growth in house prices accelerated to 3.2% from 2.9% in the previous month. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n