Following a strong showing on Wednesday the FTSE 100 is more reserved today, up by 0.10% to 7,005 during the morning session.
“The FTSE 100 was pausing for breath on Thursday having done its best to pick itself off the canvas after being felled by Covid and inflation concerns at the start of the week,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
With the European Central Bank meeting taking place later today, the market could be given some direction as inflationary pressures will likely be high on the agenda.
US weekly jobless figures will also be closely monitored later given “US central bankers have long signaled that the jobs market is pretty much their lodestar” when it comes to making decisions on monetary policy, according to Mould.
“Part of the narrative behind the market rebound in the last couple of days has been the idea that support for economies might be sustained for longer as the world stares down the barrel of rising Covid infections linked to the Delta variant,” Mould said.
FTSE 100 Top Movers
IAG (3.9%), Flutter Entertainment (3.82%) and 3i Group (3.57%) have each made solid gains this morning as the week draws to a close.
At the bottom end of the FTSE 100 on Thursday morning is Unilever (-4.53%), Persimmon (-3.25%) and Reckitt Benckiser (-2.29%).
