FTSE 100 up 0.1, FTSE 250 flat
HSBC Holdings trading exdividend, shares down
3i Group down after annual total return fall
BoE39;s rate decision at 1100 GMT

May 9 Reuters London stocks struggled for direction on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of the Bank of England39;s interest rate decision later in the day, while energy shares gave a boost to the benchmark index.

The bluechip FTSE 100 was up 0.1 at 8,361.22 points. The midcap FTSE 250 was flat.

There39;s this caution of let39;s just wait and see what the BoE has to say in order to take the next step and potentially move higher if we have a more dovish sounding central bank, Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index said.

The pound slipped against the U.S. dollar and was last at 1.2472 while the UK39;s benchmark 10year gilt yield was at 4.181 ahead of the decision.

HSBC Holdings was the biggest drag on FTSE 100 as it traded exdividend. However, most other big banks listed on the benchmark index were trading higher.

Banks are at the upper end on the leaderboard of the FTSE and that39;s saying the market is expecting a slightly more dovish tilt from the central bank, Cincotta said.

Investors avoided big bets ahead of the BoE39;s interest rate decision due at 1100 GMT, where the central bank is widely expected to keep borrowing costs steady but the focus will be on whether policymakers deliver any groundwork for loosening policy.

Markets are currently pricing in a 5050 chance…