FTSE 100 Live: Reeves scrutinised, Fed interest rates decision, stocks suffer
Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog covering the FTSE 100 and other big market moves.
Rachel Reeves is set for a showdown with MPs on the Treasury Select Committee later today while the Federal Reserve is expected to slash interest rates by 25 basis points by the evening.
Reeves will begin speaking after 10am when she will be asked questions about the Budget, including how leaks got out of the Treasury and whether they hit economic growth.
Speaking to parliament on Tuesday afternoon, Reeves was asked by her counterpart Mel Stride whether she authorised or allowed confidential details about the Budget to be passed onto journalists.
In response to the “yes or no” question, the Chancellor said: “No.”
Policymakers at the Fed are meanwhile expected to loosen monetary policy in a crucial decision, with analysts at ABN AMRO Investment Management suggesting that chair Jerome Powell is “almost compelled” to deliver a cut following pressure from President Trump.
The decision will come at 7pm UK time. A press conference will follow.
Its decision will come a week before the Bank of England is set to make its own call on whether to slash interest rates next week, with Governor Andrew Bailey expected to cast the deciding vote.
Bailey will speak at an event on Thursday, which will be seen as a sign of whether he has become more dovish since the last November meeting when interest rates were held.
UK stocks have suffered from a busy news cycle that has seen markets take a more cautious view on the upcoming Fed decision and a recent string of poor economic results for the British economy. The FTSE 100 dropped slightly lower on Thursday as British American Tobacco (BAT) shares dragged the index down.
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