London open: Stocks edge up ahead of US CPI, Fed minutes

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged cautiously higher in early trade on Wednesday as investors eyed a key US inflation reading and the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve. At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,805.72.

The consumer price index for March is due at 1330 BST, while the minutes are scheduled for release at 1900 BST.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The week now gets into full swing with the release of the consumer price index later today. Estimates vary on the outcome of a release which will give the Federal Reserve further food for thought. The general expectation is that the CPI will have increased by 0.2% in March, as compared to a gain of 0.4% in February, but the core inflation number - which excludes energy and food prices - is estimated to have risen by 0.4%, and by 5.6% year-on-year.

"Indeed, while it is clear that there is some cooling of the headline inflation number, attention is likely to turn to some of the underlying measures which have so far proved more difficult to budge, such as clothing, insurance and furnishings in addition to volatile energy and food levels."

Hunter said more clues on the Fed's thoughts will be given with the release of the minutes from its latest meeting later.

"There is likely to be reference to the recent banking turmoil, although comments from one Fed member have already suggested that there are no signs yet of business or consumer spending being influenced by tighter lending conditions," he said.

On home shores, the latest data from Rightmove showed that home sales in March rebounded close to pre-Covid pandemic levels, driven by demand for flats and a recovery from the market slump last September caused by the disastrous mini-budget of former prime minister Liz Truss.

A survey by the property website showed the number of sales agreed between sellers and buyers was just 1% lower than March 2019 as loan costs fell after Truss's £44bn plan of unfunded tax cuts caused market turmoil and saw thousands of mortgages pulled by lenders.

"The market is remaining surprisingly robust given the economic headwinds that have affected movers over the last six months," said Rightmove property expert Tim Bannister.

In equity markets, student accommodation provider Unite was in the black after saying it had already sold 90% of its rooms for the 2023/24 academic year, reflecting strong demand as well as new nomination agreements with universities.

Petrofac tanked after it warned of a wider full-year loss following a review of its portfolio, while Tullow Oil was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underperform' at Jefferies.