London pre-open: UK stocks set for higher open on split FOMC

9th Apr 2015 07:53

UK stocks are headed for a higher start on Thursday as investors this side of the Atlantic react to the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which showed that policymakers were divided on the right time to hike rates.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 28 points higher than Wednesday's close of 6,937.41.US stocks finished in positive territory on Wednesday night after details of the 17-18 March Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed quite a large disparity among members on when to tighten policy.Some suggested moving as soon as June while others preferred waiting until later in the year or even 2016, though the main consensus was that the pace of rate increases would likely be gradual.What's more, that meeting took place before the release of the March employment report last week, which missed analysts' expectations by a long way and raised speculation that policymakers would hold off from hiking rates just yet."We view September as the likely timing for the first rate hike, with some probability that the committee waits until December should core inflation be dragged lower by falling import prices," said analyst Michael Gapen from Barclays.Stocks to watchConsumer products group PZ Cussons has said in a brief update that trading over the third quarter was in line with its expectations. However, one positive was that in its largest market Nigeria, the naira exchange rate has finally stabilised following further devaluation in the period. "Trading has resumed as normal following a short period of lost trading days during the presidential election process," it said.Sausage-maker Cranswick finished its fiscal year with a strong final quarter, with total sales up 4% on the same period last year after its recent acquisition of Benson Park. Full-year underlying sales are expected to be flat, as City analysts expected.Plastics group Victrex said first-half revenue was 9% ahead of the prior year thanks to a strong consumer electronics showing and slightly lower sales in its Invibio medical business. Some adverse currency impact seen during the first half is expected to continue into the second, but management predict they will overcome this hurdle for the full year.