UK’s FTSE 100 opens lower on Fed’s hawkish pause, miners lag

UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 opened lower on Thursday, hit by subdued mining stocks following weak China data, while investors assessed U.S. Federal Reserve’s hawkish signals on interest rate hikes and awaited the European Central Bank’s policy decision.

The resource-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.1% at 0713 GMT, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 midcap index was up 0.1%.

The Fed left rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected, but projected rates rising by half a percentage point by 2023 end in reaction to a resilient economy and slower fall in inflation.

The ECB is expected to follow suit and leave the door open to more hikes, but is also seen raising rates to their highest level in 22 years later in the day.

Miners dropped 0.5% on lower metal prices after China’s economy stumbled in May. [MET/L]

Events organiser Informa Plc (LON:INF) jumped 4.1% to top the FTSE 100 on raising its annual profit and revenue outlook, while technology company Halma (LON:HLMA) slumped 5.7% following results.