FTSE 100 index little changed ahead of FOMC decision, UK unemployment data

Britains FTSE 100 index marked a minor daily decline on Wednesday after rising for two sessions. Prices opened slightly higher but edged lower in the course of trading. Market players abstained from entering big positions ahead of the outcome of FOMCs two-day policy meeting which concludes today.

The UK blue chip index stood at 6 596.80 points at 9:40 GMT, down 0.12% on the day. Prices held in a daily range between 6 609.50 and 6 579.00 points. FTSE 100 closed 0.56% higher, or 36.93 points, on Tuesday and reached 6 605.28 points. The index added 0.62% on Monday, snapping six straight sessions of losses.

The UK stock market gained support on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is not going to occupy eastern Ukraine and that he does not want to split his neighboring country, easing concern of a further escalation of tension between Russia and the West.

Data showed on Wednesday that the unemployment rate in the UK measured by International Labour Organization methods remained at 7.2% in the three months through January, supporting Bank of Englands decision to keep interest rates at a record low. The jobless rate was in line with analysts expectations. The claimant-count rate fell to 3.5% last month from 3.6% in January, also matching projections.

Investors avoided placing large bets ahead of the conclusion of a US policy review. The Federal Open Market Committee concludes a two-day meeting today, the first presided by Fed’s new Chief Janet Yellen. Broad market expectations called for a further reduction of the central bank’s Quantitative Easing program by $10 billion per month, in line with the Federal Reserve’s previous decisions.

Some analysts also expected US policy makers to reassess their timeline on when to eventually raise interest rates. There were also expectations circling that Fed Chair Janet Yellen might scrap the central banks numerical target on unemployment as a benchmark for economic recovery and adopt a more flexible stance.

Market players also awaited the announcement of Britains finance minister George Osborne of a pre-election budget that will offer voters a limited tax relief.

Winners, losers

The FTSE 100s top three gainers today were BAE Systems, Persimmon and Barclays. BAE Systems rose by 2.49% to 417.95 pence by 9:30 GMT. Persimmon added 1.76% to trade at 1 319.00 pence, while Barclays gained 1.68% and stood at 240.03 pence.

Barclays jumped after people with knowledge of the matter said the UK lender will look for offers for its Index, Portfolio and Risk Solutions unit next month, a deal estimated to around $400 million. CME Group was pointed as one of the possible bidders, one of the people said, cited by Bloomberg.

The blue chip indexs top three losers for today were Smiths Group, Antofagasta and Anglo American.

Smiths Group plummeted 6.11% by 9:34 GMT to trade at 1 268.50 pence. The engineering company fell after it reported its first-half profit declined by 3% due to pricing pressure in its largest unit and a strong pound.

Antofagasta was down 3.11% at 802.75 pence, while Anglo American dropped 2.54% to 1 430.25 pence.