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LONDON (Alliance News) - London stock indices are trading higher mid-morning Thursday led by resource stocks as investors continue to focus on the outcome of Wednesday's US Federal Reserve meeting.
The FTSE 100 trades up 0.1% at 6,952.75, having hit a new record intraday high of 6,982.79 earlier in the session. The FTSE 250 is up 0.3% at 17,412.16 and the AIM All-Share is flat at 715.41.
In Europe, the French CAC 40 and the German DAX 30 are both flat.
The Fed said Wednesday that a hike in its benchmark interest rate "remains unlikely" for the central-bank's April 29 meeting in Washington, but said nothing about the following meeting in June. In a statement following its second regular meeting of 2015, the Fed dropped its recent outlook of being "patient in beginning to normalize" monetary policy from its unprecedented near-zero rate, in place for nearly seven years.
Nonetheless, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said "just because we removed the word patient from the statement doesn't mean we are going to be impatient."
The central bank also noted that economic growth in the US has moderated and dropped its 2015 GDP forecast to 2.3% to 2.7% from a range of 2.6% to 3.0% in December.
"We had been expecting the normalization process to begin in June, realising that a delay to September was possible. We would now reverse these likelihoods," says Michael Moran chief economist at Daiwa Capital Markets.
"A tightening in June is still possible - Chair Yellen indicated as much in her press conference - but September seems more likely," Moran adds.
The pound is quoted at USD1.4905, still down from a high on Wednesday of USD1.5164.
On the London Stock Exchange, miners Fresnillo, up 5.2%, Antofagasta, up 2.9%, and BHP Billiton, up 2.3% are the three biggest gainers in the FTSE 100, while retailer Next is the worst performer, declining 3.4%.
The fashion chain reported a sixth consecutive year of annual pretax profit growth, as sales increased in its stores and particularly online, but it cut its sales guidance for the current year as it predicted slower growth in international sales due to the issues in Russia and Ukraine and due to tough overall comparative figures.
Next, which last year overtook big rival Marks and Spencer Group to become the UK's most profitable clothes retailer, reported a pretax profit of GBP794.8 million for the year to January 31, up from GBP695.2 million a year earlier, while excluding a GBP12.6 million gain that included a profit on the sale of its investment in Cotton Traders, pretax profit rose to GBP782.2 million from GBP695.2 million.
Fellow retailer Ted Baker is one of the biggest fallers in the FTSE 250, down 3.2%, despite reporting a further growth in profit and sales in its last financial year, and said it plans to open more stores in the year ahead. Pretax profit grew 25% to GBP48.8 million in the year ended January 31 from GBP38.9 million a year earlier as revenue grew 20% to GBP387.6 million, from GBP321.9 million. It raised its total dividend for the year to 40.3 pence per share from 33.7p. The stock had reached an all-time high on Wednesday, hitting 2,879.00p, but currently trades at 2,727.60p.
Specialty insurers Brit and Lancashire Holdings are the biggest faller in the FTSE 250, down 8.7% and 6.5% respectively, after their shares went ex-dividend.
Ophir Energy, up 3.3%, is one of the best performers in the FTSE 250. The Africa-focused oil and gas company said it swung to a pretax profit in 2014, bolstered by a USD671.7 million gain after the sale of its interest in three blocks in Tanzania.
Still ahead in the economic calendar is initial and continuing jobless claims from the US at 1230 GMT, and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey at 1400 GMT.
Futures indicate Wall Street for a lower opening, with the DJIA and S&P 500 both pointed down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite indicated down 0.1%.
By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1
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