By Preeti Upadhyaya, MarketWatch LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks traded choppy on Tuesday as the market awaited comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and security firm G4S PLC was downgraded following its Olympics contract failure. The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 5,669.49. Bernanke's much anticipated testimony to Congress is expected to buoy markets, in hopes that he will make an announcement about a possible third round of quantitative easing. In the U.K. consumer prices fell 0.4% to 2.4% in June from May. "U.K. inflation dropped sharply in June to its lowest since November 2009, further alleviating the squeeze on incomes and helping to revive consumer spending," said Chris Williamson, chief economist for Markit, in a note. "However, the same factors that helped push inflation down may soon reverse and drive inflation higher again in coming months," he added, citing rising food and oil prices as a risk to inflation in the future. G4S PLC extended its losses from the day prior, falling 3.1% as it was downgraded to neutral from buy by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The U.K. based firm recently announced it expected to lose up to $78 million on its Olympics contract after coming up short in terms of security staff. Plumbing firm Wolseley PLC dropped 3.2% following its announcement that it will "explore strategic options" for its businesses in France amid difficult business conditions in Europe. Mining giant Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) fell 1% even after the company released strong fiscal second-quarter earnings. Chief Executive Tom Albanese cited "global economic conditions and sentiment" for being cautious moving forward. Supporting the U.K. index, Barclays PLC picked up 1.7%, despite continued scrutiny into the bank's involvement in the Libor rate-rigging scandal. Oil and gas firms were also on the rise, with heavyweight BP PLC (BP) up 1.1% and AMEC PLC gaining 1.5%. Oil prices also advanced.
