On Wednesday U.K. stocks rose, with shares of brewer SABMiller PLC among the leaders. The British currency rose ahead of monthly jobs data and the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation update.
Sterling trading at $1.5692, compared with $1.5673 late Tuesday.
If Bank of England Governor Mark Carney “repeats that inflation will reach 2% in the two-year forecast and the next move in rates will most likely be an increase, investors could bring forward their rate-hike expectations and [the pound] could strengthen somewhat,” said Marshall Gittler, head of global currency strategy at IronFX Global Ltd., in a note.
The FTSE 100 climbed 0.2% to 6,947.12, with gains for mining, consumer-goods and industrial shares.
A day earlier, the London benchmark fell 1.4%, its biggest decline since late March.
SABMiller shares gained 1.6% as the maker of Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni and other brands said annual net producer revenue came in at $26.29 billion, up 5% from the year-earlier period, generally in line with analysts’ expectations. Profit, however, declined to $3.30 billion on currency weakness against the dollar.
Barratt Developments PLC rose 2.9% as the home builder said it expects housing completions for the full year to be ahead of previous guidance.
Mondi PLC zoomed to the top of the FTSE 100, charging up 8% after the packaging and paper company posted a 29% rise in underlying operating profit to 236 million euros ($295 million) during the quarter ended March 31.
Those in the red territory included Admiral PLC, with shares down 1.9%. The insurer said Chief Executive Henry Engelhardt will step down next year after 24 years in the role with Chief Operating Officer David Stevens succeeding Engelhardt.
The Office for National
Statistics will release U.K.’s monthly jobs and wages report at 9:30
a.m. in London, or 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Then, the Bank of England will release its quarterly inflation report at 10:30 a.m. London time.
