London close: Ex-div stocks weigh as investors await Fed minutes

20th Nov 2013 16:17

- MPC warns of 'uncertainties' to recovery- FOMC in focus ahead of minutes- Ex-div stocks finish firmly lowertechMARK 2,626.20 -0.68%FTSE 100 6,681.08 -0.25%FTSE 250 15,178.75 -0.57%UK markets finished firmly lower on Wednesday after a choppy session as investors adopted a cautious approach following comments from the Bank of England and ahead of details of the latest monetary policy meeting in the States.Minutes from this month's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) released this morning showed that policymakers voted unanimously to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.5% and the stock of asset purchases at £375bn, as expected.However, the MPC attempted to ease fears over a sooner-than-expected tightening in monetary policy as the minutes expressed "uncertainties over the durability of the recovery". The central bank reiterated that rates would be kept low until the unemployment rate reaches the 7% threshold, at which point policymakers would then reassess its stance.The FTSE 100 finished 16.93 points lower at 6,681.08 despite the promise of continued low rates as a number of heavyweight stocks weighed on the index after going ex-dividend, meaning that from today investors won't be able to get their hands on the companies' latest payouts.US markets opened in positive territory today after retail sales data for October painted a decent picture ahead of the key holiday shopping season. However, upside was limited with traders scaling back risk ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's October meeting will be released later this evening."It would appear that markets seem prepared to wait for the release of the most recent minutes of the Fed policy meeting for further clues as to the most recent deliberations on Fed rate policy," said Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets.Telecom Plus advances; ex-div stocks fallUtilities reseller Telecom Plus was a high riser today after agreeing to pay £218m to buy back two gas and electricity supply businesses from Npower which it sold in 2006. The announcement came as the firm delivered a 17% increase in revenues in the first half, as profits rose 10.1%.Ex-div stocks were weighing on the FTSE 100 with Vodafone, Tate & Lyle, Next, Carnival and Sainsbury among the stocks trading without the right to their latest payouts.Gold producers Randgold Resources, Centamin and African Barrick Gold finished sharply lower as precious metal prices declined.Fund manager Aberdeen rose after analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded their rating on the stock from 'underperform' to 'neutral'. Meanwhile, airline group easyJet was extending gains made yesterday after the company delivered a 51% increase in annual profits and unveiled an unexpected special dividend to shareholders.BSkyB was higher after saying it wants to end its row with arch-rival BT over TV sports coverage with the group keen to do a wholesale deal allowing both to offer their customers the full range of live sports.FTSE 100 - RisersAberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 492.00p +3.54%easyJet (EZJ) 1,377.00p +2.38%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,748.00p +1.33%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,300.00p +1.26%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 835.00p +1.21%Pearson (PSON) 1,342.00p +0.98%Aviva (AV.) 430.80p +0.89%CRH (CRH) 1,580.00p +0.83%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,584.00p +0.76%Barclays (BARC) 252.60p +0.72%FTSE 100 - FallersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,495.00p -2.73%Amec (AMEC) 1,158.00p -2.20%Vodafone Group (VOD) 227.20p -2.09%Melrose Industries (MRO) 297.50p -2.07%Vedanta Resources (VED) 951.00p -2.06%SSE (SSE) 1,363.00p -1.87%Persimmon (PSN) 1,163.00p -1.86%Meggitt (MGGT) 497.50p -1.78%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 807.00p -1.71%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 404.80p -1.68%FTSE 250 - RisersTelecom Plus (TEP) 1,805.00p +19.77%Diploma (DPLM) 700.00p +5.42%Keller Group (KLR) 1,089.00p +3.91%Dialight (DIA) 940.00p +3.30%Alent (ALNT) 330.40p +3.25%esure Group (ESUR) 237.90p +3.08%Telecity Group (TCY) 692.00p +2.98%NMC Health (NMC) 380.00p +2.70%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,573.00p +2.48%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 151.10p +2.44%FTSE 250 - FallersCentamin (DI) (CEY) 46.73p -6.35%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 181.00p -5.58%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 20.00p -4.99%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 265.00p -3.99%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 860.00p -3.80%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 775.00p -3.67%Chemring Group (CHG) 191.40p -3.63%ITE Group (ITE) 301.40p -3.55%Spirent Communications (SPT) 102.00p -3.50%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 375.00p -3.35%BC