FTSE 100 Gains Ahead Of BoE Rate Decision
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks advanced on Thursday and the pound weakened as investors awaited interest-rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 25 basis points, as widely expected, raising hopes of a downshift in the Fed's policy later this year.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 37 points, or half a percent, at 7,797 after finishing marginally lower on Wednesday.
Shell rose over 2 percent. The oil & gas giant launched a $4 billion share buyback program after reporting record annual profits.
Miner Anglo American gained half a percent after reporting a 10 percent rise in production in the fourth quarter.
Wizz Air Holdings jumped more than 5 percent after saying it carried 4,149,850 passengers in January, an increase of 73.1 percent from last year.
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