FTSE 100 is in the red today as traders wait for the Bank of England (BOE) interest rate decision. The futures are trading at £6,537, which is 0.35% below yesterday’s close.
What happened: The biggest catalyst in global equities was the Federal Reserve, which delivered its interest rate decision yesterday. The bank left interest rate unchanged and hinted that the situation will remain like that for at least 2 to 3 years. Also, FTSE 100 stocks reacted to the strong manufacturing and services PMI numbers from the UK.
What next today? There will be no major corporate announcements today. Indeed, the only key events will be annual general meetings of firms like JD Weatherspoon, Amiad Water, and Falanx Group.
Therefore, investors will be focusing on the BOE interest rate decision. In general, the bank will possibly not tweak interest rates and its asset purchases. Still, in its statement, it will send a signal about what it intends to do based on the outcome of Brexit.
FTSE companies to watch: Banks will be the key FTSE 100 companies to watch today. That’s because the BOE could signal its willingness to push interest rates negative in 2021. Therefore, among the banks to watch will be Lloyds, Barclays, Standard Chartered, NatWest, and HSBC.
On the four-hour chart, we see that the FTSE 100 index is in a tight range. It has continued to remain between the support and resistance levels at £6,489 and £6,643. It is also slightly above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages.
Therefore, for today, we suspect that the index will continue rising since the BOE will signal its willingness to support the economy. If this happens, the next level to watch will be £6,550.
