FTSE 100 up 0.1, FTSE 250 adds 0.8
GSK slumps after 70,000 Zantac lawsuits allowed to move forward
St. James39;s Place jumps after JP Morgan upgrades stock to overweight

June 3 Reuters London stocks rose on Monday, mirroring counterparts in Asia, ahead of the highly anticipated rate cut by the European Central Bank due later this week, while drugmaker GSK kept gains in check.

The bluechip FTSE 100 index was up 0.1 as of 0808 GMT, after rising as much as 1 at open.

The midcap FTSE 250 was up 0.8. Both the indexes were set to log a third consecutive session of gains.

London had a really good open this morning and that39;s short term. Investors seem to be taking some profits, said Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at IG Group.

The European Central Bank ECB will meet later this week where investors expect it to trim borrowing costs by a quarter point.

Analysts predict the Bank of England BoE to closely shadow the ECB39;s movements, positioning itself to quickly follow suit in initiating the ratecutting cycle.

Once the ECB cuts, what will happen then? It39;s already priced in. We may actually fall back and could lead to a much more significant correction in the FTSE 100, Rudolph added.

The BoE will meet two weeks from now to take a call on interest rates in Britain. Traders have priced in a full cut only in November.

Investors will also closely monitor a slew of economic data set to be release this week, including domestic manufacturing data for May due later…