London pre-open: Stocks set for higher start, tracking gains on Wall Street

(Sharecast News) - Shares in London are set for a slightly higher start on Thursday morning, tracking gains overnight on Wall Street after the US central bank signalled that interest rate cuts were on the table. The FTSE 100 was expected to start the session 17 points higher, having closed down 0.08% at 7,530.69 on Wednesday. Overnight, the S&P 500 finished 0.45% higher after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell told the US Congress that there were multiple headwinds bearing down on the US economy from overseas - not least from trade - and that inflation pressures were limited and risked falling persistently below target. In parallel, the minutes of the Fed's mid-June policy meeting, which were published shortly afterwards, revealed that "many" rate-setters in the US had supported a rate cut last month.