London pre-open: Stocks seen flat ahead of BoE announcement

London stocks were set for a broadly flat open on Thursday as investors looked to the Bank of England rate announcement.

The FTSE 100 was seen starting three points lower than Wednesday’s close at 6,359.

“The Bank of England is likely to stay unanimous in its decision to keep interest rates unchanged at a record low in its meeting today. The tone in the minutes is likely to remain dovish, despite a surprise jump in UK inflation in March, due to concerns of an economic slowdown ahead of the Brexit referendum in June,” said CMC Markets’ Jasper Lawler.

The BOE rate announcement is at 12000 BST.

In the US, eyes will be on initial jobless claims and the consumer price index at 1330 BST.

Burberry says 2017 profits to be at bottom of range

Burberry warned profits for 2017 are likely to be around the bottom of the range of analysts' forecasts due to increased investment in the business, though the current year is expected to hit its mark.

Sales at the fashion house decreased by 1% in the second half of the year due to weakness in Hong Kong and Macau

FTSE 100 consumer goods company Unilever reported growth in sales and volume on Thursday, though its turnover declined in its first quarter update.

Underlying sales growth was up 4.7%, with emerging markets up 8.3%, while underlying volume grew 2.6% and pricing advanced 2%.

Unilever’s turnover declined 2%, however, to €12.5bn (£9.96bn), which included a negative currency impact of -7.1%.

The group’s board declared a quarterly dividend of €0.3201 per share, an increase of 6%.