London's FTSE 100 edged down 20 points or 0.26% in early trading.
The US Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates later and possibly announce the start of a reduction in its balance sheet - the opposite of quantitative easing – and it's going to be a nervy day said traders.
The European Union also confirmed it will ban Russian oil imports by the year-end in its latest round of sanctions. Prior to its invasion of Ukraine, Germany received the most barrels of oil per day. Brent crude jumped 2.5% to almost US$108 a barrel.
Aston Martin’s quarterly losses jumped by 200% but the luxury car maker insisted this was in-line with expectations. Higher depreciation and amortisation was blamed for the higher deficit with retail demand described as strong and some models already sold out.
Shop prices increased by their highest rate in over a decade last month, the British Retail Consortium said. Retail price growth jumped 2.7%, further piling pressure on PM Boris Johnson to alleviate the cost of living crisis.
Among the small caps, Open Orphan’s hVIVO subsidiary has inked a "substantial contract" with an existing top-five global pharmaceutical client to manufacture a virus for use in human challenge studies. No financial details were provided.
Atome Energy was 36% higher as it signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) in Paraguay. The PPA will enable it to “move expeditiously” towards the pre-construction phase of its green hydrogen and ammonia production plans in Villeta, it said.
Reabold Resources meanwhile jumped 19% as its associate Corallian Energy received a takeover approach. If the deal progresses, Reabold will acquire six of Corillian’s North Sea licences.