WPP rises on upbeat margin guidance
Deliveroo drops as Delivery Hero offloads stake
FTSE 100 up 0.4, FTSE 250 adds 0.2

Jan 30 Reuters Britain39;s main stock indexes closed at near threeweek highs on Tuesday, boosted by largely upbeat earnings reports led by advertising firm WPP and signs of easing price pressures.

The exporterheavy FTSE 100 rose 0.4 and the domestically focussed FTSE 250 added 0.2.

WPP rose 1.9 after it forecast a 2023 operating profit margin at the top end of its previous guidance.

The British Retail Consortium said prices at shops this month rose at the slowest annual pace since May 2022, adding to signs of easing inflationary pressures ahead of the Bank of England39;s BoE policy decision on Thursday.

The BoE is seen holding interest rates, and it is a close call whether the central bank will start trimming borrowing costs next quarter or in JulySeptember, a Reuters poll found.

At this point in the monetary policy cycle, it39;s not about actually easing, instead it39;s about tweaks to communication and pivoting prior positions, which gets the market excited about potential rate cuts in the future, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB UK.

The indexes were also boosted by a record close for New York39;s SP 500 on Monday ahead of this week39;s slew of megacap U.S. earnings, economic data and the Federal Reserve39;s monetary policy meeting.

The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for Britain for 2025 on Tuesday by 0.4…