FTSE 100 touches record high, BoE policy in focus

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FTSE 100 up 1.4% and FTSE 250 up 0.6%

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Energy stocks rise on higher crude amid U.S.-Iran tensions

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Software, tech stocks still under ?pressure

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Investors await BoE policy decision on Thursday

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 was up 1.4% at 10,457.84 points at 1155 GMT, while the domestically ?focused mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.6%.

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

Beazley 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.

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 (RELX) slid 2.6%, while exchange operator and data provider London Stock Exchange Group (LDNXF) dipped 2.4%. The stocks suffered double-digit losses on Tuesday.

IT firm Softcat slid 6% to a one-year ?low, ?while HG Capital, which recently agreed to buy U.S. financial software maker OneStream (OS) for $6.4 billion, slumped another 7.4%. Ad firm WPP (WPP) 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)