U.K. Stocks Are Little Changed Before Fed Meeting

U.K. stocks were little changed, with the FTSE 100 (UKX) heading for its second successive monthly rally, as investors awaited a Federal Reserve meeting for signs of stimulus, while BP Plc (BP/) posted earnings that missed forecasts.

BP dropped 3.8 percent after reporting a loss in the second quarter. ITV Plc fell 1.6 percent after Deutsche Bank AG lowered its rating on the shares. Vedanta Resources Plc (VED) gained 2.2 percent after the company said quarterly earnings jumped.

The FTSE 100 lost 8.57, or 0.2 percent, to 5,685.06 at 10:06 a.m. in London. The gauge has climbed 8.1 percent from its 2012 low on June 1, and is headed for a monthly rally of 2 percent. The broader FTSE All-Share Index also declined 0.2 percent today, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index retreated 0.3 percent.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will probably refrain from announcing a third round of large-scale asset purchases this week, according to the median estimates of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The Federal Open Market Committee is more likely to wait until a meeting on Sept. 12-13 to unveil plans to buy $600 billion in housing and government debt, according to the survey.

Eighty-eight percent of economists said the Federal Open Market Committee will refrain from starting new purchases at a two-day meeting beginning today in Washington. Forty-eight percent said the FOMC will announce the buying at its Sept. 12-13 meeting, according to the July 25-27 survey of 58 economists.
Federal Reserve

The Fed is more likely to extend its pledge to hold its main interest rate near zero beyond its current horizon of late 2014. Twenty-six percent of economists expect the central bank will announce a later date, while 74 percent of economists predict that the Fed will not change its forward guidance, according to the survey.

In the U.K., consumer confidence was unchanged this month as efforts by the government and the Bank of England to pull the economy out of recession failed to strengthen sentiment. An index of sentiment stayed at minus 29, London-based research group GfK NOP Ltd. said in a statement. The gauge has been in the range of minus 29 to minus 31 for the past seven months.

BP slid 3.8 percent to 427.5 pence after Europe’s second- biggest oil company reported a net loss of $1.4 billion, including impairment charges totaling $4.8 billion as the company wrote down the value of U.S. assets.

Adjusted quarterly earnings fell to $3.7 billion from $5.7 billion a year earlier, the company said. The average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey had called for a profit of $4.6 billion.
ITV, Vedanta

ITV (ITV) retreated 1.6 percent to 75.6 pence after Deutsche Bank advised investors to sell shares in the company and switch to other media stocks such as UBM Plc and British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) lost 2.2 percent to 217.4 pence after the Wall Street Journal said the lender has held talks with officials about settling interest-rate rigging allegations. The report cited people familiar with the matter.

Vedanta gained 2.2 percent to 948.5 pence. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased to $1.34 billion in the three months through June, from $1.05 billion a year earlier, the company said, as newly acquired Cairn India Ltd. added to profit.

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) added 1.4 percent to 5,885 pence as gold prices headed for a second consecutive monthly gain.

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