FTSE seen opening flat to lower

The FTSE 100 .FTSE is seen opening unchanged to down 5 points on Thursday according to financial bookmakers, with investors seen staying on the sidelines ahead of the interest rate decision later in the session and always key U.S. non-farm payrolls numbers on Friday.
The blue chip index is seen opening as much as 0.1 percent lower, after hitting a fresh 16-month high on Wednesday when the index gained 7.54 points to close at 5,530.04.
Investors will be focussed on the Bank of England's announcement at 12 p.m. for any changes to interest rates, which are at a record low of 0.5 percent, and for amendments to the 200 billion pound quantitative easing (QE) programme. Analysts, however, expect no changes to interest rates or the QE amount.
On Friday investors will await the December figures for U.S. non-farm payrolls for a fresh indication of the health of the economy. Economists polled by Reuters expect 8,000 job losses in December after a surprisingly small 11,000 drop in November.
No significant economic data from the UK is scheduled for Thursday. U.S. data set for release later in the session include weekly jobless claims data at 1:30 a.m. British time and comparable chain store sales numbers for December.