FTSE 100 inches higher on personal-care boost; Fed minutes in focus

All eyes will be on the Fed's December meeting minutes, due at 1900 GMT, that will give more clues to investors on how soon the U.S. central bank can start cutting interest rates.

The UK's FTSE 100 edged up on Wednesday led by the gains in personal care sector's stocks, while investors awaited minutes of Federal Reserve's December meeting to gauge the path ahead for global interest rates.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% by 0814 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 index was flat. Personal care, drug and grocery stores sector was the top gainer, rising 1.0% to a near eight-week high, while precious metal miners slid 0.7%.

British business leaders have turned more pessimistic about the outlook for the country's economy and they are holding back on investment decisions, according to the Institute of Directors' (IoD) confidence index. Entain topped the FTSE 100, with a 2.2% jump, after the sports betting company appointed Eminence Capital founder Ricky Sandler as a non-executive director on its board of directors.

GSK Plc gained 1.8%, after Jefferies raised the rating on the stock to "Buy" from "Hold", along with hiking its price target. All eyes will be on the Fed's December meeting minutes, due at 1900 GMT, that will give more clues to investors on how soon the U.S. central bank can start cutting interest rates.