London stocks edged higher in early trade on Thursday as investors waded through earnings news ahead of the latest policy announcement from the Bank of England.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,265.13 amid expectations the BoE will raises rates in the face of rising inflation.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: “It is true a rate rise now would be a sharp change in policy from the last meeting in September, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world either.
“A rate increase of 0.15% to 0.25% could be argued as being entirely consistent with the recovery in the UK economy seen since the emergency measures were implemented back in March 2020, and while any decision is unlikely to be unanimous, we know of only two who would be more than likely to vote against a rise in rates, Tenreyro and Mann, given their recent comments on policy.
“One thing is certain it will probably be a split decision and likely to be decided by the odd vote, but more than anything if the UK economy can’t withstand a 0.15% rise in base rate, then we are in a very sorry state indeed.”
Jarvis Investment Management Ltd offers a wide range of stockbroking and administration services and solutions. Their parent company, Jarvis Securities plc (LON:JIM) is listed on AIM.
