London pre-open: Markets seen higher as Fed decision looms

18th Sep 2013 07:32

Markets are expected to open with small gains on Wednesday as eyes turn to the Federal Reserve ahead of the conclusion of this month's all-important policy meeting."Despite the expectation of a reduction in the consistent adrenaline boost that has fed the markets to reach historical and all-time highs, the indices are currently pointing towards a positive open in both Europe and the US," said Research Analyst Joshua Mahony from Alpari.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 19 points from yesterday's close of 6,570.17. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) comes to a close today and will be one of the most closely-watched US policy decisions in recent years, given rising expectations that policymakers will begin to scale back quantitative easing. The Fed is widely expected to start by tapering its monthly asset purchases by around $10-15bn from the current level of $85bn, with forecasts being pared slightly over the last month given recent mixed economic data as of late, including August's disappointing jobs report.Just as important will be the new set of macroeconomic projections which the monetary authority will provide. These may help to cement expectations that policy rates are to stay low for quite some time yet. Stocks to watchBritish housebuilder Redrow revealed a stellar set of full-year results, after progress across the group, as it recommended the return of a final dividend. The FTSE 250-listed group said pre-tax profit surged 63% to £70m for the year to June 30th and adjusted earnings per share jumped 45% to 15.7p.Iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo has bought a 14.4% interest in Ferrous Resources. The company purchased the iron ore producer, which operates in the Mina Geris region of Brazil for a total consideration for $80m.South-East Asia-focused oil and gas group Salamander Energy has started drilling an exploration well in Block G4/50 in the Gulf of Thailand, it announced on Wednesday. The company said that the well is targeting the Ayutthaya prospect, located in the Western Central sub-basin, some 7km northeast of the recent Surin oil discovery, which found good-quality oil last month."The well will target oil in Miocene sandstones and is estimated to contain mean prospective recoverable resources of 30m barrels of oil," it commented. Student accommodation developer Unite has signed a deal with Schroders Real Estate Investment Trust for the acquisition of a one acre development site in Wembley, North West London. The new site was acquired for £7.4m, has an estimated total development cost of £47m and is projected to deliver a 9% development yield in line with the group's target levels.