THE FTSE 100 edged up yesterday as investors await key rate decisions from the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve this week. London's premier index closed up 0.2 per cent at 7,734.48 after a mixed day in which it traded down through much of the middle of the day.

Unilever was the fastest riser on the index, climbing over three per cent, after bosses announced they would be offloading their ice cream business, including Ben and Jerry's.

Reckitt Benckiser meanwhile slumped to the bottom of the UK's top firms as it reels from the impact of a lawsuit against its baby formula business Mead Johnson Nutrition. Shares in the Dettol-to-Durex maker closed down over four per cent.

Investors in the capital are awaiting key rate decisions from the Bank of England and US Federal Reserve this week. Threadneedle Street is projected to maintain rates at 5.25 per cent on Thursday, with market forecasts indicating a slower pace of rate adjustments compared to the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve throughout the year.

While it's widely expected that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged this week, investors will be paying close attention to Chair Powell's remarks and the Fed's dot-plot, which maps out the anticipated future path of interest rates. Japanese stocks meanwhile fluctuated yesterday after the central bank made a landmark move to scrap its negative interest rate policy, marking Japan's first interest rate hike since 2007. The BOJ established a fresh short-term rate target within the range of 0 to 0.1 per cent to implement a 0.1 per cent interest on reserves to incrementally raise rates.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper