London close: Stocks erase losses to edge higher ahead of FOMC

UK stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday after a choppy session, though gains were modest ahead of the all-important Federal Reserve policy decision later that evening.

London’s FTSE 100, which was swinging between gains and losses for most of the day, finished up 0.2% at 6,826, bouncing off an intraday low of 6,777.08 reached in the morning.

While experts do not predict any major changes to the language used in the Federal Open Market Committee policy statement due out at 19:00, they will be watching closely for hints on the timing of future rate hikes.

The consensus of experts believe that the Fed will stick to it's guidance of the first rate hike since 2006 arriving in mid-2015. In December, the FOMC said it would be “patient in beginning to normalise [policy]” with Fed chair Janet Yellen explaining that “patient” meant a rate hike was unlikely “for at least the next couple of meetings”.

Concerns about Greece had weighed on stocks earlier in the day with equities in Athens down 9% in the aftermath of Sunday’s general election.

New prime minister Alexis Tsipras from the victorious anti-austerity Syriza party told his cabinet on Wednesday that he would move quickly to renegotiate terms of the bailout with Greece’s creditors. He said he wanted to “radically change the way that policies and administration are conducted in this country”.

Experian and ARM provide a boost

Credit-checking group Experian was in demand after unveiling an unexpected $600m share buyback and outlining plans to grow its dividend.

ARM, the semiconductor firm whose chips are used in Apple’s iPhones, was bolstered by the news that the California-based tech group sold 74.5m of the smartphones in three months to December. Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook said that demand for the iPhone was “staggering”.

Supermarket chain Wm Morrison dropped after gloomy comments from Societe Generale, which rated the stock as a ‘sell’ as it offered the "weakest visibility" in the sector.

Johnson Matthey declined after the chemicals outfit said full-year underlying profits would be only “slightly ahead” of last year.

Accountancy software maker Sage slumped after first-quarter revenues rose 5.3%, shy of its full-year growth target of 6%.

The purchase of British motorbike insurer Bennetts for £27m lifted the share price of over-50s services group Saga.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,078.83 +0.51%
FTSE 100 6,825.94 +0.21%
FTSE 250 16,425.73 +0.44%

FTSE 100 - Risers
SABMiller (SAB) 3,594.50p +4.61%
Capita (CPI) 1,118.00p +2.29%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,115.00p +2.29%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 429.00p +2.29%
SSE (SSE) 1,580.00p +2.27%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,677.00p +2.26%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,620.00p +1.90%
Old Mutual (OML) 208.60p +1.86%
Hammerson (HMSO) 696.50p +1.83%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 269.30p +1.78%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 186.30p -6.15%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 905.00p -3.90%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 357.00p -3.54%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,385.00p -3.20%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 673.50p -2.88%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 262.90p -2.74%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,657.00p -2.46%
BG Group (BG.) 897.80p -2.36%
BP (BP.) 432.95p -1.74%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,153.50p -1.71%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Saga (SAGA) 185.00p +10.78%
Game Digital (GMD) 285.00p +7.87%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 406.00p +6.93%
Allied Minds (ALM) 440.20p +5.06%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 503.50p +4.68%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 560.00p +4.28%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 319.20p +4.08%
Greencore Group (GNC) 303.00p +3.77%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,545.00p +3.64%
Redefine International (RDI) 55.00p +3.48%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Afren (AFR) 4.70p -6.00%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 389.60p -5.16%
PayPoint (PAY) 879.50p -4.87%
Booker Group (BOK) 152.60p -4.09%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 172.00p -3.91%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 163.00p -3.55%
Rightmove (RMV) 2,371.00p -2.95%
Supergroup (SGP) 949.00p -2.62%
RPS Group (RPS) 188.30p -2.49%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 422.00p -2.11%