London investors would seek to consolidate gains this week after the FTSE-100 index rose for six days in a row ahead of a likely post-election freeze on British interest rates, analysts said. The FTSE-100 index of leading London shares closed at 4,918.9 points on Friday, up 117.2 points, or 2.44 percent, since the previous week. "We've had (six) consecutive days in positive territory," Barclays Capital analyst Henk Potts said. "You expect the market to be a little bit quiet, it's all about consolidating."
The FTSE was "looking like it will trade around the 4,900 level for the next few weeks", Potts forecast.
Economic news will be the key driver as the Bank of England (BoE) issues its first decision on British interest rates since Prime Minister Tony Blair's historic third successive general election win Friday.
Policymakers were widely expected to leave the central bank's key interest rate steady at 4.75 percent for the ninth straight month when their two-day meet concludes Monday.
On the corporate front, little news was forecast.
"You're not going to get a great deal from the companies this week," Potts said.
The exception to that would be British Airways' annual results on Friday.
"We believe that a recovery in yields has started, and that this will be more prevalent in business class and long-haul than in Europe," noted Stephen Clapham, analyst at Williams de Broe.
Energy giant BG Group and insurer Royal and Sun Alliance release first-quarter results on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. Global economic news would also affect share prices in London.
"There is some concern about a slowdown in the global economy, particularly in the United States, against a backdrop of higher interest rates," Potts said.
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