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* GSK hits 15-week low on profit miss
* Barclays falls as loan loss provisions grow
* Next jumps on posting smaller-than-feared slump in sales
* Consumer, tech stocks weigh on mid-cap index
* FTSE 100 up 0.04%, FTSE 250 down 0.2%
(Updates to close)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Susan Mathew
July 29 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 ended flat on Wednesday as
investors held out for more stimulus from the U.S. Congress and
the Federal Reserve, while GlaxoSmithKline, Barclays and Taylor
Wimpey slid on weak quarterly earnings.
The world's largest vaccine maker, GSK, slumped 3.2%
to hit a 15-week low after missing second-quarter profit
estimates under the effect of coronavirus lockdowns, dragging
the healthcare index down 1.8%.
Kicking off the quarterly earnings season for UK banks,
Barclays set aside a higher-than-expected 1.6 billion
pounds ($2.07 billion) to cover a possible rise in loan losses
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its shares fell 6.1%.
But a 7.7% jump for Next Plc helped the blue-chip
FTSE 100 end in positive territory as the retailer
reported a smaller-than-feared slump in second-quarter sales.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 was off 0.2%, weighed by losses
in consumer discretionary, financial and tech-related stocks.
The Fed is expected to sound reassuringly accommodative at
its policy review due at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), followed by Chair
Jerome Powell's press conference, but investors have turned wary
over political wrangling between U.S. Democrats and Republicans
on a coronavirus relief plan.
"Not much will come of (the Fed meeting) in terms of policy.
That said, we think a sober assessment from the Fed or Powell
could challenge risk sentiment," said Mazen Issa, senior FX
strategist at TD Securities.
"With COVID cases ravaging the U.S. and the job market
stalling, there is a risk that Powell sounds more bearish than
dovish."
Uncertainty about global efforts to contain the pandemic
stalled a three-month rally for the FTSE 100 in July. Although
recent economic data has shown a revival in business activity
with the lifting of nationwide lockdowns, traders are concerned
about the damage from another possible shutdown.
Homebuilder Taylor Wimpey Plc shed 8.1% on saying it
expected to complete around 40% fewer homes in 2020.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V and Kevin Liffey)
