Market overview: Grocers hit by lower consumer spend

1630:Close Stocks ended a volatile day of trading lower weighed down by a retreat in miners and after another leg move higher in the oil price faded in afternoon trading. Sainsbury was also lower after going ex-dividend while Tesco was facing a strike in Ireland on 16 May. As well, data from Barclaycard showed consumer spending fell for the second month in a row in April, as slowing wage growth, flat employment rates, and Brexit uncertainty kept growth down at 1.9%. For the moment at least investors appeared unfazed by the prospect of a near-term recession should the country decide to leave the European Union. Compass was boosted by positive comments out of Morgan Stanley while Antofagasta saw its target price trimmed at Canaccord Genuity. FTSE 100 down by 58.30 points to 6,104.19.

1330: Initial US jobless claims jumped by 20,000 to reach 294,000 over the week ending on 7 May (Barclays: 270,000).

1200: BoE opts to keep rates and size of asset purchase facility unchanged.

1047: Brazil's senate has voted 55-22 to put Dilma Rousseff on an impeachment trial for breaking budget laws. The Brazilian president is to be suspended from her post after five years in power.

1038: "It would be a surprise to see any change to policy at this point and the BOE is certainly in recent times not known for its surprises. Interest rates are expected to remain on hold but it will be interesting to see if anyone has voted for a cut despite consensus for a 0-0-9 vote. It’s certainly unlikely anyone will be seeking to tighten monetary policy at this juncture. Still, even with no change in votes, the immediate bias for sterling is lower," Brenda Kelly, Head Analyst at LCG says.

1000: Euro area industrial production shrank by 0.8% month-on-month in March (consensus: 0.0%).

0901: Norway's gross domestic product expanded at a 1.0% quarter-on-quarter clip over the first three months of the year, easily outstripping forecasts for growth of 0.1%.

0900: Norway's central bank keeps main policy rate at 0.50%, as expected.

0808: Stocks have started the morning trading significantly lower, led by a retreat in shares of retailers, alongside large drops in the likes of GlaxoSmithKline and Centrica. All eyes are on the MPC and Governor Mark Carney ahead of today's BoE policy meeting and Inflation Report. Acting as a backdrop, the main Wall Street gauges suffered large falls on Wednesday, with shares of retailers a particularly sore spot. Asian bourses have finished on a mixed note overnight, albeit little changed. There is little of note on today's economic agenda, aside from the BoE. However, Stateside at least three Fed speakers are scheduled to take to the podium in the afternoon. FTSE 100 dwon 46.34 to 6,116.15.