The Bank of England, the central bank of the British economy, decided to hold the interest rates steady, after the central bank’s policy meeting under Governor Andrew Bailey.
Uk Holds Interest Rates
The central bank retained its benchmark interest rates at 4.50 per cent. This has drawn a cautious reaction from the equity markets based in the world’s financial centre, London.
The British Economy is the sixth largest economy, behind its former colony, India. The British central bank’s decision to hold back from further cuts in its interest rates is similar to the decision taken by one of the most consequential central bank, across the Atlantic, the US Federal Reserve System.
At the beginning of the week, the US Federal Reserve also decided to keep its interest rates put, in the range of 4.25 per cent to 4.50 per cent.
This shows the larger anxiety of the central banks around the world. Central banks are concerned about a possible, potential recession, amid the uncertainty in the global economy, induced by Trump’s tariff wars.
FTSE 100 Index
When we take a closer looks the equity markets at the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the marquee index of the FTSE 100 Index closed in red, however, only with minor cuts.
At the end of the day’s trade, the index closed with losses of 0.054 per cent or 4.67 points. This took the overall value of FTSE 100 to 8,701.99 points.
FTSE 250 Index
The next, FTSE 250 Index, which largely houses mid-cap blue chip companies also closed in red, with minor losses in the intraday trade on Thursday.
The index closed on 20,097.98 points, after recording a decline of 0.12 per cent or 24.39 points.
FTSE SmallCap Index
Another relevant index, the FTSE SmallCap Index, which as the name suggests, consists of small-cap companies, that are the backbone of economies, the index also closed in the red.
However, the losses recorded at the end of the day’s trade were relatively negligible. The overall dip in value stood at 0.14 points or 0.0021 per cent, taking the overall value to 6,645.01.
