London's main indexes gain on miners boost ahead of Fed, BoE decisions

Hays

Today 17:30

FTSE up 0.14%, FTMC up 0.16%
UK CPI holds at 13-month low of 2.8% in May
BoE expected to keep interest rates at 3.75% on Thursday
Updates after markets close
By Utkarsh    Hathi and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi

    June 17 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE indexes closed higher on Wednesday, with gains in miners offsetting broader declines, while investors weighed domestic inflation data ahead of interest rate decisions by the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE closed up 0.14% at 10,508.61 points, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC added 0.16%.
Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 rose 3.3% in their fifth consecutive session of gains, their longest gaining streak since late February — when the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began. 
Banks .FTNMX301010 were the biggest boost to the benchmark FTSE 100, with Barclays BARC.L rising 3.4% after BofA Global Research raised its price target
Markets are awaiting the Fed's interest rate decision due later in the day, with focus on comments from new Chair Kevin Warsh.
Back home, British inflation unexpectedly held at 2.8% for May, compared with a 3% rise economists polled by Reuters had expected. 
The data prompted traders to trim their expectations for a rate hike later this year, a day ahead of the BoE's rate decision, widely expected to remain steady.
Homebuilders .FTNMX402020 gained 3.2%. Separately, British house prices rose in the year to April, data showed. 
"For the investor it is a dilemma; good news for the economy's resilience is bad news as it justifies a rate hike," said Nick Saunders, CEO of online investment platform Webull UK.
On the flip side, consumer-leaning stocks were the biggest weights, with the personal goods sub-index .FTNMX402040 down 2.3%, and the personal care, drug and grocery index .FTNMX452010 off 1%. 
Oil giants BP BP.L and Shell SHELL> were down 1.6% and 1% respectively, dragging the energy index .FTNMX601010 down 1.2%. 

 (Reporting by Utkarsh Hathi and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Joyjeet Das)
 ((utkarshtushar.hathi@thomsonreuters.com | tharuniyaa@thomsonreuters.com))