By Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stocks traded off slightly in London on
Thursday as investors awaited word out of the European Central Bank
meeting, where the council is expected to cut interest rates. A
number of companies also reported.
The FTSE 100 index was down 25 points, or 0.4%, at 6,427, led
lower by declines from Weir Group , off 4%, and IMI Plc , down
3%.
BG Group rose 3% after the oil and natural gas company reported
a 0.8% fall in net profit for the first quarter, but said it was on
track to meet project milestones for this year.
Imperial Tobacco paced advancers, up 3% and 2%,
respectively.
Royal Dutch Shell was another winner from the oil and gas
sector, up more than 1% after the company said its CEO Peter Voser
will retire in 2014.
Shares of Legal & General Group PLC rose over 2% after the
insurer said outlook for its business is strong after posting a
forecast-beating 28% rise in total first-quarter new business
sales, helped by better performances for U.S. and U.K.
businesses.
As for the ECB, economists are looking for a lowering of its
benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.50%. Some also
believe the ECB, which will announce its decision at 7:45 a.m.
Eastern, may take more measures to boost credit to small and
medium-size businesses. Read: Why the ECB is expected to cut
interest rates.
The rest of Europe was also in wait-and-see mode, with the Stoxx
Europe 600 index down fractionally. Read: Europe stocks cautious as
ECB decision looms.
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