* FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 up 0.1%
* Fed meeting conclusion eyed
* Kingfisher falls after earnings report
* Sirius Minerals steepest mid-cap faller
(Adds company news items, analyst comments, updates share
moves)
By Muvija M
Sept 18 (Reuters) - London's main index see-sawed in early
Wednesday trading as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S.
Federal Reserve meeting to get a sense of how far policymakers
in the world's largest economy will go to tackle a global
slowdown.
By 0746 GMT, the blue-chips were down 0.1%, while
the more domestically-focussed midcap bourse added 0.1%.
The Federal Reserve is set to conclude its latest policy
meeting later in the session, with expectations that it will cut
interest rates for the second time this year as it looks to
cushion the economy from an ongoing trade war with China.
"The question facing the market is how many more (rate cuts)
there are to come," Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson wrote. "Are
we at the end of the mid-cycle adjustment, or the early stages
of a full-blown easing path? Will we get yet another flip-flop?"
"Traders are increasingly less confident in the number of
cuts the FOMC will carry out this year."
This week has brought in more uncertainty to market
participants and analysts who witnessed a more than 10% surge in
crude prices after attacks on Saudi oil facilities shut 5% of
global oil output.
The FTSE 100 is set to close this week in the red, after
three consecutive weeks of gains.
On Wednesday, industrials weighed the most on the index,
with losses in contractor BAE Systems and engine maker
Rolls Royce after the British government ordered an
investigation into the $5 billion buyout of defence company
Cobham by a U.S. private equity firm.
Cobham gave up 1% on the midcap bourse.
Home improvement retailer Kingfisher gave up 2%
after posting a fall in underlying earnings due to weak
performance at its French business.
Luxury brand Burberry, which has significantly
outshone its European peers that have come under pressure due to
the Hong Kong protests, climbed 1% after UBS analysts hiked
price target while it downgraded the sector.
Sirius Minerals lost another 10% on the midcap index
after plunging over 50% on Tuesday when it cancelled a $500
million bond sale and delayed a project to mine for fertiliser
under a national park in northern England.
Another significant FTSE 250 faller was Metro Bank
that slipped 5% after it flagged in a prospectus on Tuesday that
it may incur significant expense relating to the resolution of
an accounting error it disclosed earlier this year.
Small-cap Pendragon fell 9% to a more than
seven-year low after it cancelled annual dividend and issued a
weak annual forecast as deep price cuts to offload used car
inventory pushed it to a first-half loss.
(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru
Editing by Andrew Heavens)
