London midday: Markets in the red with BoE, Fed in focus

- BoE voted unanimously on policy at last meeting- MPC attempts to play down rate-hike fears- Taper in focus ahead of FOMC minutestechMARK 2,627.20 -0.64%FTSE 100 6,670.70 -0.41%FTSE 250 15,181.39 -0.55%UK markets were trading in the red on Wednesday after the Bank of England expressed concerns with the economic recovery and as investors awaited the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting. A number of heavyweight stocks were providing a drag on London's FTSE 100 index by midday after going ex-dividend, meaning that from today investors won't be able to get their hands on the companies' latest payouts.It was revealed this morning that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.5% and the stock of asset purchases at £375bn at its latest meeting, as expected. However, the MPC attempted to ease fears over a sooner-than-expected tightening in monetary policy as the minutes of the meeting expressed "uncertainties over the durability of the recovery". The central bank reiterated that rates would be kept low until the unemployment rate reaches the 7% threshold, at which point policymakers would then reassess its stance.Analyst Philip Shaw from Investec said that the minutes didn't provide any firm clues to the timing of a possible rate increase. "Rather they conveyed the degree of uncertainty on the committee on the economic outlook and the recovery in productivity, which will be key factors in the monetary policy debate," he said.Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release details of its October meeting later this evening as markets wait to hear about the central bank's decision to maintain its stimulus programme last month.However, comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last night were in focus this morning after he reiterated that any tapering of asset purchases remains dependent on incoming economic data, as he held back from shedding any light on the timetable for an impending withdrawal.Telecom Plus soars after H1 results, acquisitionsUtilities reseller Telecom Plus was a high riser this morning after agreeing to pay £218m to buy back two gas and electricity supply businesses from Npower which it sold in 2006. The announcement came as the firm delivered a 17% increase in revenues in the first half, as profits rose 10.1%.Ex-div stocks were weighing on the FTSE 100 with Vodafone, Tate & Lyle, Next, Carnival and Sainsbury among the stocks trading without the right to their latest payouts.Drinks group Diageo was under the weather after Chief Executive Ivan Menezes was reported as saying that the "uncertain" macro environment will continue to limit sales growth. Sector peer SABMiller was also out of favour this morning.Airline group easyJet was extending gains made yesterday after the company delivered a 51% increase in annual profits and unveiled an unexpected special dividend to shareholders.GlaxoSmithKline rose after completing the partial sale of Aspen Pharmacare, raising gross proceeds of 7.06bn South African rand ($695m).Engineering and construction firm Kentz was higher after being awarded a $190m contract with Qatar Petroleum for services on 775 wells across the Dukhan Oilfield in Qatar, extending the firms' long-standing relationship which started back in 1997.Fund manager Aberdeen rose after analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded their rating on the stock from 'underperform' to 'neutral'. FTSE 100 - RisersAberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 484.90p +2.04%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 838.50p +1.64%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,752.00p +1.57%easyJet (EZJ) 1,362.00p +1.26%Pearson (PSON) 1,342.00p +0.98%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,116.00p +0.84%Aviva (AV.) 429.90p +0.68%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,277.50p +0.57%William Hill (WMH) 363.10p +0.50%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,200.00p +0.46%FTSE 100 - FallersRexam (REX) 488.50p -2.98%Vodafone Group (VOD) 227.15p -2.11%Amec (AMEC) 1,160.00p -2.03%Hammerson (HMSO) 505.00p -1.94%Persimmon (PSN) 1,163.00p -1.86%Melrose Industries (MRO) 298.20p -1.84%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 806.50p -1.77%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,368.00p -1.72%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 404.80p -1.68%Vedanta Resources (VED) 955.00p -1.65%FTSE 250 - RisersTelecom Plus (TEP) 1,745.00p +15.79%International Personal Finance (IPF) 591.50p +2.69%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 555.50p +2.49%Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 811.50p +2.40%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.91 +1.79%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,559.00p +1.56%BH Macro Ltd. EUR Shares (BHME) € 20.00 +1.52%NMC Health (NMC) 375.50p +1.49%BH Macro Ltd. USD Shares (BHMU) 19.69 +1.44%BTG (BTG) 446.30p +1.39%FTSE 250 - FallersTalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 266.20p -3.55%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 48.19p -3.43%Spirent Communications (SPT) 102.20p -3.31%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 744.50p -2.93%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 186.40p -2.76%ITE Group (ITE) 304.10p -2.69%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 20.49p -2.66%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 788.50p -2.41%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 378.70p -2.40%Hiscox Ltd (HSX) 662.00p -2.36%BC