FTSE 100 touches record high, BoE policy in focus

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Feb 4 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 touched a record high on Wednesday, helped by gains in energy stocks and insurer Beazley, while investors awaited the Bank of England's monetary policy decision later this week.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE was up 1.4% at 10,457.84 points at 1155 GMT, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC was up 0.6%.

Energy stocks .FTNMX601010 climbed 2%, tracking higher crude prices as geopolitical tensions simmered between the United States and Iran. O/R

Beazley BEZG.L climbed 8.7% to the top of the FTSE 100 as the British insurer agreed to the terms of a sweetened 8 billion pound ($10.97 billion) takeover proposal from Switzerland's Zurich Insurance ZURN.S.

Meanwhile, European software names remained in focus following Tuesday's selloff when updated artificial intelligence models raised fresh doubts about whether software firms can defend their business models.

Business information group RELX REL.L slid 2.6%, while exchange operator and data provider London Stock Exchange Group LSEG.L dipped 2.4%. The stocks suffered double-digit losses on Tuesday.

IT firm Softcat SCTS.L slid 6% to a one-year low, while HG Capital HGT.L, which recently agreed to buy U.S. financial software maker OneStream OS.O for $6.4 billion, slumped another 7.4%. Ad firm WPP WPP.L fell 3.2% to its lowest since 1998.

British interest rates are likely to fall further this year, but the BoE might be vague on Thursday about when or by how much it will cut borrowing costs, as it awaits a clearer picture on inflation. The BoE is expected to keep its benchmark borrowing costs unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday.

Activity in Britain's services sector grew strongly in January and confidence rose, a survey showed on Wednesday, but firms also reported a jump in their prices, a potential concern for the BoE ahead of the policy meeting.

(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

((tharuniyaa@thomsonreuters.com))