FTSE 100 rises to near record levels; CMC Markets tumbles

(Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, ending just short of a fresh record high as investors sought clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies, while shares in trading companies CMC Markets and IG Group tumbled after results.

The blue-chip index gained 0.2% to 8,565 points, having touched an all-time high of 8,584 points on Wednesday. The FTSE 250 midcap index eased 0.2%.

Stock investors took comfort this week as Trump held off imposing hefty tariffs on his first day in the office and announced big investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, sparking a rally in global tech shares. 

The focus is now on economic data, corporate earnings and remarks from Trump later in the day.

In earnings-driven moves, CMC Markets dropped 16.7% after the trading platform's muted forecast fell short of investors' heightened expectations following upbeat projections from industry peers.

Peer IG Group slipped 6.4% despite the online trading platform posting a 30% rise in its first-half profit.

Inchcape dropped 13.3% after J.P. Morgan downgraded the auto distributor to "neutral" from "overweight".

The FTSE 100-listed Associated British Foods dropped about 3% after it reported weak trading in its main UK market in the Christmas quarter and cut annual sales forecast for its Primark budget fashion retailer.

Investors meanwhile are awaiting a slew of monetary policy decisions including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank next week and the Bank of England (BoE) in early February.

Data last week showed British inflation slowed unexpectedly last month and core measures of price growth - tracked by the BoE - fell more sharply, cementing bets on an interest rate cut next month.

Traders are putting an 82% chance of a first quarter-point reduction on Feb. 6 and have fully priced in at least two rate cuts this year.

An industry survey on Thursday showed a sharp downturn in British factory activity eased only slightly in January and optimism among manufacturers sagged to its lowest level in over two years.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves told Reuters that she would announce changes if necessary in March to meet the government's fiscal rules.

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(This story has been refiled to fix table formatting)

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Hugh Lawson)