(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Thursday, ahead of the next interest rate decision from the European Central Bank, due later in the day.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 4.77 points, or 0.1%, at 8,251.72. The FTSE 250 was up 77.23 points, or 0.4%, at 20,751.01, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.81 points, or 0.1%, at 799.78.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 822.04, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 18,192.46, and the Cboe Small Companies was up fractionally at 16,922.97.
The European Central Bank is expected to start cutting interest rates from record highs Thursday, its first reduction in nearly five years, but volatile inflation means the path ahead is uncertain.
After an unprecedented streak of eurozone rate hikes beginning in mid-2022 to tame runaway energy and food costs, inflation has been slowly coming down towards the ECB's two-percent target.
Rates have been on hold since October, but it is a near certainty the central bank will reduce borrowing costs by a quarter percentage point Thursday, taking its key deposit rate to 3.75%. It will provide a much-needed boost for the beleaguered eurozone economy and be the first cut since September 2019.
In political news, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has called on Keir Starmer to pledge not to increase property tax if Labour wins the General Election.
Hunt, writing for The Telegraph, challenged the Labour leader to match a new Tory pledge not to increase capital gains tax, stamp duty or the number of council tax bands. His comments come after Starmer branded Rishi Sunak a liar and claimed he had broken the ministerial code for suggesting Labour planned to hike taxes by more than GBP2,000.
Sunak repeatedly highlighted the allegation during the combative debate with Starmer, claiming "independent Treasury officials" have costed Labour's policies "and they amount to a GBP2,000 tax rise for everyone".
Elsewhere, Wales' leader Vaughan Gething lost a no-confidence vote on Wednesday, less than three months after being elected as first minister in the devolved Welsh administration. The embattled Welsh Labour leader has faced several controversies during his time in office, which also saw the collapse of a coalition between Labour and the Welsh party Plaid Cymru.
However, Gething vowed he would not resign despite the vote. But the motion - which was passed with 29 votes for and 27 against in the 60-seat parliament - will add pressure on his already tumultuous time in office.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.5%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2795 early on Thursday in London, up compared to USD1.2786 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.0879, down against USD1.0881. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY156.17, up compared to JPY154.89.
The UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal greenlit a trial for a multibillion-pound claim against Google on Wednesday for alleged anti-competitiveness in digital advertising.
According to AFP, the GBP13.6 billion claim, which was brought by Ad Tech Collective Action, accuses the US tech firm of abusing its dominant position and causing significant losses to UK online publishers.
The case centres around ad tech, the system that decides which online adverts people see and how much they cost. At the heart of the Ad Tech Collective Action argument is the claim that Google has abused its position in the market by promoting its own products and services over those of rivals.
Bridgepoint was up 0.3%.
The London-based private equity investor named Tim Score as its new chair, with effect from July 1, succeeding Founder William Jackson, who will step down at the same time. Jackson will continue to chair Bridgepoint's Private Equity business.
Score was formerly deputy chair and senior independent director at Pearson. Outgoing Chair William Jackson said: "I'm delighted that following a Nomination Committee led process, the board has unanimously agreed to appoint Tim Score to the role. Tim takes over as chair with the business enjoying tremendous momentum."
Mitie was up 1.3%.
The Glasgow-based facilities management company posted pretax profit of GBP156.3 million for the year ended March 31, up from GBP105.5 million a year prior. Revenue was GBP4.51 billion, up from GBP4.06 billion, while group revenue came to GBP4.44 billion from GBP3.95 billion.
The firm declared a total dividend per share of 4.0 pence, up from 2.9p the year before. Looking ahead, it expects financial 2025 to be another year "of delivery towards medium-term targets", and expects to meet high single digit revenue growth guidance for the year.
Fevertree Drinks was up 3.1%.
The the London-based maker of carbonated mixers celebrated market share gains and "topline growth in the year to date", as it looked ahead to the summer trading period. To date, the firm noted good underlying momentum in Europe, notably in Italy, France and Denmark.
It said that the brand continues to grow ahead of the mixer category, with Ginger Beer performing well and Pink Grapefruit gaining good traction. In its 'Rest of the World' region, it expects to deliver strong growth in financial 2024 following the set-up of a new subsidiary model in Australia.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.7%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite up 2.0%.
Brent oil was quoted at USD78.90 a barrel early in London on Thursday, up from USD77.01 late Wednesday.
Gold was quoted at USD2,367.50 an ounce, up against USD2,322.80.
Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar, alongside the ECB interest rate decision, there are retail sales from the eurozone. Ireland is also due to release unemployment data.
By Holly Beveridge, Alliance News reporter
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