U.K. stocks edged lower in cautious trade on Thursday as investors awaited the Bank of England’s policy meeting against an improving backdrop.
The central bank is likely to keep rates on hold, but may emphasize its high bar for tightening monetary policy.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down about 6 points at 6,756 after losing 0.6 percent the previous day.
Oil and gas firm Premier Oil edged down slightly after it posted a loss for 2020 ahead of Chrysaor merger.
Ocado lost 2.7 percent despite the online grocer reporting a 40 percent surge in sales in the last three months.
Vectura Group jumped 3.4 percent. The pharmaceutical company said it will pay a special dividend of £115mln during 2021 after receiving a big payout from GlaxoSmithKline over a US patent litigation.
Public transport company National Express declined 2.4 percent after it swung to a pretax loss for 2020 on lower revenue.
FTSE 100 Dips Ahead Of BoE Meeting
2021-03-18 09:21:20
