By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Oil firms drove U.K. stocks slightly lower on Thursday, with investors waiting for the Bank of England’s interest-rate decision later in the day.
The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -0.38% shed 0.2% to 5,811.28, partly erasing Wednesday’s gains when the benchmark closed at the highest level since Sept. 25.
Among notable movers, steelmaker and miner Evraz PLC UK:EVR -2.63% dropped 3.4%, as it agreed to buy an indirect controlling interest in OJSC Raspadskaya, a Russian producer of coking coal, and its subsidiaries. In the acquisition, Evraz said it will issue 132.7 million new shares, representing 9.9% of the existing share capital. See: Evraz to buy controlling stake in Raspadskaya
Pointing in the other direction, ingredients firm Tate & Lyle PLC UK:TATE +1.56% rose 2.7%, after Credit Suisse lifted the stock to outperform from neutral.
For the broader U.K. market, banks were rising ahead of the BOE announcing its latest policy stance at 12:00 London time, 7 a.m. Eastern. The bank is widely expected to keep its key interest rate at a record-low 0.5% and make no changes to its bond-buying program.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC UK:RBS +0.79% RBS 0.00% picked up 1.2%, Standard Chartered PLC UK:STAN -0.39% gained 0.8% and HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA -0.17% HBC +0.62% HK:5 +1.79% added 0.6%.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC UK:GSK +0.41% GSK +0.06% added 0.6%. The drug maker said its Shionogi-ViiV Healthcare LLC joint venture has completed the initial clinical registration package for dolutegravir, an HIV drug.
Oil firms, however, added pressure in London. BG Group PLC UK:BG -1.30% lost 1.6%, BP PLC UK:BP -1.74% BP -1.08% fell 1.4% and Royal Dutch Shell PLC UK:RDSB -1.15% RDS.B -0.64% gave up 0.8%.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
