London pre-open: Weak start expected as Fed signals 'patience' on rate hike

UK stocks are expected to decline on Thursday as markets this side of the Pond react to the Federal Reserve’s commitment to remain “patient” on the timing of a rate hike.

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 50 points lower than Wednesday’s close of 6,825.94, tracking late declines on Wall Street.

The Fed painted an improved picture of the economy, changing its language about recent job gains from “solid” to “strong”, and adjusting its view of the recovery from “moderate” to “solid”.

However, it said it would still "be patient in beginning to normalise the stance of monetary policy" and highlighted that it was watching global economic developments.

The language was widely interpreted to mean that policymakers won't begin to hike rates from near-zero for at least another two Federal Open Market Committee meetings.

Analysts at Danske Bank said the statement “raises the likelihood of a later hike than we currently anticipate (June 2015)”.

Stocks to watch

Oil major Shell is looking to reduce costs and lower investment in 2015, but stressed that it wouldn’t “over-react” to the collapse in crude prices. However, depressed prices - currently trading at their lowest in almost five years - and the impact of the $15bn of divestments made in 2014 would likely reduce cash flow this year.

After a bad start to its financial year, drinks giant Diageo delivered a much improved performance in the second quarter with stronger net sales, volumes and margins - though volumes are still falling. Organic net sales in the half were broadly flat, down 0.1% compared to the 1.5% fall in the first quarter, with a 1.9% decline in volume beating the prior 3.5% fall.