BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks were little changed on Thursday as the pound pushed higher against the dollar and euro on optimism about the possibility of a Brexit trade deal.
As trade talks reach a climax, officials cautiously predicted a deal within days.
Meanwhile, all eyes were on a Bank of England meeting later in the day. The nine-member committee is expected to hold the key rate a record low 0.10 percent and the asset purchase program at GBP 895 billion after raising it by GBP 150 billion in November.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was marginally higher at 6,573 after gaining 0.9 percent the previous day.
International energy services group Hunting fell over 1 percent after its final quarter of the year reflected slightly lower revenue compared to the previous two quarters.
Serco Group rallied 3.3 percent. The provider of services to governments said that it expects fiscal 2020 underlying trading profit to grow by around 35 percent, consistent with previous guidance.
WPP climbed 3.7 percent. The world's biggest advertising firm said it expects to return to 2019 levels of revenue less pass-through costs by 2022.
TalkTalk Telecom Group jumped 2.8 percent. The telecoms group has agreed a £1.1bn takeover offer by Tosca IOM.
Cairn Energy gained nearly 2 percent after announcing a special dividend.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX