FTSE 100 index little changed ahead of Yellen speech

Britains headline index was mostly flat on Friday with a quiet corporate diary and economic calendar and as investors awaited Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellens speech for signs whether the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate sooner than expected.

The FTSE 100 index stood at 6 775.30 points at 8:24 GMT, down 0.03% on the day, having shifted in a daily range between 6 782.80 and 6 772.30 points during the day. The benchmark equity index added 0.33%, or 22.38 points, on Thursday to close the trading session at 6 777.66 points.

A quiet corporate diary and a poor economic calendar left investors mainly focusing on the upcoming speech of Fed Chief Janet Yellen at the central bankers’ meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, looking for any signals on the timing of a U.S. interest rate hike. Yelled is due to speak at 14:00 GMT.

Minutes from FOMC’s July meeting showed on Wednesday the Federal Reserve might end its monetary stimulus earlier than expected but intends to keep the benchmark interest rate low for a “considerable time” after that. However, some participants voiced their discomfort with the committee’s forward guidance on keeping the benchmark interest rate at rock bottom for an extended period of time, saying a hike in borrowing costs might come sooner than they had initially expected.

Fed officials noted that “if convergence toward the committee’s objectives occurred more quickly than expected, it might become appropriate to begin removing monetary policy accommodation sooner than they currently anticipated.”

Data by the Office for National Statistics showed yesterday that retail sales in the UK rose more than expected in July on strong demand for clothing. Core retail sales, excluding volatile auto sales and fuel, marked a 0.5% jump in July after contracting by 0.1% in June, beating economists’ projections for a 0.4% gain. Clothing and footwear sales rose by 0.8%, while food sales expanded by 0.4%.

In the Eurozone, manufacturing activity growth fell to the lowest since July 2013. The flash manufacturing PMi slid to 50.8, trailing projections for a moderate drop to 51.3 from 51.8 in July. The services sector posted better performance, matching projections for a slowdown to 53.5 from 54.2 a month earlier.

In the US, jobless claims for the week ended August 16th fell by 14 000 to 298 000, the Labor Department reported, beating projections for a drop to 300 000 from the previous period’s upward revised 312 000.

Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region expanded at the fastest pace in more than 3-1/2-years with the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index rising to 28.0 in July from 23.9 in June. Analysts had projected a drop to 19.2. Wall Street closed higher in Thursday.

Top movers

FTSE 100s top three gainers for the day were HSBC Holdings Plc, Admiral Group Plc and Vodafone Group Plc.

HSBC added 1.15%, or 7.35 pence, to trade at 648.25 pence at 8:09 GMT, while Admiral rose 0.94%, or 12.50 pence, to 1 335.50 pence.

Vodafone gained 0.91%, or 1.85 pence, to 204.45 pence amid speculation that advisers at AT&T were working on a cash bid worth more than 3 pounds per share.

RSA Insurance Group Plc was up 0.09% at 436.90 pence after announcing it has agreed to sell its Singapore and Hong Kong operations to Allied World Assurance Company in a £130-million cash deal.

FTSE 100s top three losers for the day were Sports Direct Intl Plc, Kingfisher Plc and London Stock Exchange Group Plc.

Sports Direct lost 0.97%, or 7.00 pence, to trade at 711.50 pence at 8:17 GMT, while Kingfisher fell 0.91% to 304.00 pence.

LSE fell 0.77%, or 15.50 pence, to 1 989.50 pence after saying it seeks to raise £938 million via a rights offering to partially fund the $2.7 billion acquisition of Frank Russell Co, which was announced in June. Additionally, LSE announced its adjusted profit rose 18% in the quarter through June 30th to 31.9 pence per share.