FTSE 100 Edges Lower Ahead Of Central Bank Meetings

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks were slightly lower on Tuesday as investors await this week's Fed and BoE meetings.

Market participants largely expect a 50-basis-point hike by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

The Bank of England is seen raising interest rates by a modest 25 basis points on Thursday despite Monday's data showing a contraction in the country's GDP in April.

Meanwhile, data released earlier today showed that the U.K. jobless rate rose in May as the number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by less than expected, despite continued gains in overall employment levels.

The Office for National Statistics said that the claimant count fell by 19,700, while the jobless rate rose to 3.8 percent of the population.

The jobless rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 3.8 percent in three months to April but remained above the expected 3.6 percent.

At the same time, the employment rate increased 0.2 percentage points on the quarter to 75.6 percent but was still below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

The benchmark FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent to 7,192 after closing 1.5 percent lower on Monday.

Banks gained ground, with Barclays and Lloyds Bank rising 1-2 percent.

Energy stocks traded higher, with BP Plc rising around 1 percent as oil prices rose in volatile trade.

Entain fell about 1 percent after the gambling group agreed to buy online sports betting and gaming operator BetCity in a deal worth up to 850 million euros ($887 million) to build its presence in the Dutch market.

Distribution and services group Bunzl was moving lower after it entered into an agreement to acquire German cleaning and hygiene business Hygi.de for an undisclosed sum.