18th Sep 2013 13:03
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK equity markets continue to trade flat ahead of the US market open as investors remain cautious as they wait for the US Federal Bank's decision on the future of its asset purchasing policy, a decision that will affect the way the markets trade for days to come.
Expectations are split. It's either going to leave the USD85 billion a month asset buying programme as it is until later in the year or reduce it by up to USD15 billion a month.
The major UK stock indices were trading in a tightly-bound range. The FTSE 100 is up 0.1% at 6,580.91, the FTSE 250 is flat at 15,144.6, and the AIM All-Share is down 0.2% at 783.94.
The pound continues to trade higher as the Bank of England announced a unanimous vote by the Monetary Policy Committee to keep the UK base rate of interest unchanged at 0.5% and quantitative easing at GBP375 billion. The sterling is trading at USD1.5960 against the dollar, and EUR0.8359 against the Euro.
At the individual equity level, Central Rand Gold, up 93%, is a big winner on its first day of trading on AIM after moving from the London Stock Exchange's main market. The company said it has received the first tranche of its USD7.25 million finance boost, allowing it to progress upgrades to its crushing and milling facilities.
Barclays is down sharply on the FTSE 100 as the shares from its massive GBP5.8 billion placing have started trading.
US futures are pointing to a slightly higher open across the major markets. The S&P and DJIA are both predicted to open up 0.1%, whilst the Nasdaq is pointing up 0.3%.
US housing starts figures showed a disappointing increase of 0.9% or 891,000, missing consensus forecasts of a climb to 917,000, according to FXStreet,com. Similarly, building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, fell to an annual rate of 918,000, missing the 950,000 forecast.
In the data calendar, US EIA Crude Oil Stocks change is expected at 1530 BST, followed by that announcement from the US Federal Reserve.
By James Kemp; [email protected]
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