The FTSE 100 fell back to three-week lows this morning as the UK braces for the latest interest rate call from the Bank of England, after the US Federal Reserve signalled its own rate hike yesterday.
UK economists expect today’s BoE announcement to be less radical than November's jump of .75%, predicting an increase of 0.5 up to 3.5. The rate will be the highest since November 2008.
Among the large caps, Energy producer Drax started the day on a high. It’s reporting that its adjusted earnings before tax should exceed analysts’ predictions and climb above £651mln.
Tesla investors may be feeling less of a warming glow, with chief executive Elon Musk having sold a further US$3.6bn worth its stock. He has now dumped US$40bn of the EV firms shares this year, as he continues to find ways to fund his US$44bn Twitter takeover.
And in small caps, tin miner Tungsten West has now received two out of the required four permits to achieve its longstanding ambition of restarting operations at the Hermadon mine in Devon.