• FTSE 100 up 0.1%; FTSE 250 flat
• Healthcare stocks lead gains, tech, utilities fall
• Entain dips after CFO replacement plans
• Grizzly Research short on Ceres Power, shares dip

Dec 11 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 held steady on Thursday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman's comments, suggesting a less hawkish stance than anticipated, were met with a global cautious sentiment that limited gains.

The UK's blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) , opens new tab was up 0.1% by 1043 GMT, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) , opens new tab index was little changed.

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The Fed lowered rates by an expected 25 basis points in a divided vote on Wednesday, but signalled interest rates are unlikely to fall further in the near term as it awaits clarity on the labour market.

"Though Powell stressed a wait-and-watch approach, the statement and press conference were less hawkish than feared... the door thus remains open for further easing, though at a slower pace," said Mohit Kumar, an economist at Jefferies.

Healthcare stocks on the FTSE 100 were the biggest boosts, with AstraZeneca (AZN.L) , opens new tab up 1% and Convatec (CTEC.L) , opens new tab adding 2.6%.

Miners (.FTNMX551020) , opens new tab gained 0.2%, tracking a rise in copper prices.

However, utilities (.FTUB6510) , opens new tab declined 0.5%, while tech stocks, though not heavily weighted on the benchmark index, slipped by 0.8%.

Investors adopted a cautious stance against tech stocks globally following a dour forecast from U.S. cloud firm Oracle (ORCL.N) , opens new tab, renewing some concerns over valuation and returns on lofty AI investments, which had caused a sell-off in November.

Among individual stocks, Entain (ENT.L) , opens new tab fell 3.4% to the bottom of the FTSE 100, after the gambling firm said International Distribution Services executive Michael Snape will replace current finance chief and deputy CEO Rob Wood next year.

Associated British Foods (ABF.L) , opens new tab fell 2% as the Primark owner traded without entitlement to its latest dividend payout.

RS Group (RS1R.L) , opens new tab topped the FTSE 250 with a 5.7% gain after a rating upgrade from J.P.Morgan, while Ceres Power (CWR.L) , opens new tab slid 3.5% after Grizzly Research disclosed a short position in the clean-energy firm.

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/ftse-100-subdued-gains-less-hawkish-fed-comments-tempered-by-global-caution-2025-12-11/