Britain's FTSE 100 rose more than 1% on Wednesday as banks rallied ahead of an expected rate hike and a weaker dollar lifted gold miners. The midcap FTSE 250 reached a two-month high.
The FTSE 100 rose 1.18% to 10,764.49 points by 1121 GMT, putting it on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain in about six weeks. The midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.83% to a two-month high.
Banks lead ahead of the Bank of England decision
Banking stocks rose 4.3%, set for their biggest one-day gain in nearly six months, and gave the FTSE 100 its biggest lift. HSBC, Standard Chartered, NatWest Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays each gained between 3.6% and 4.8%.
The rally came a day before the Bank of England's policy decision, and markets largely expect a 25-basis-point hike in rates. Fiona Cincotta, senior markets analyst at City Index, said: "Banks have massively underperformed this year". She added that a rate hike would increase net interest income, which could be a bonus and would be supportive.
Weaker dollar lifts gold and miners
Precious metal miners rose nearly 6.2%, set for their biggest one-day gain in nearly three months, as gold prices climbed 3%. The dollar slipped after the Democrats' sweep of the US midterm elections raised concerns over the prospect of tighter AI regulation and its potential drag on economic growth.
Company moves
Lion Finance Group rose 7.5% after it announced a 62 million Georgian lari ($24.2 million) share buyback. Engineering firm Weir fell 7.7% after flagging shorter-term headwinds from Middle East conflict and Chilean mine disruptions, despite maintaining its annual outlook.
On the midcap index, Metro Bank jumped 13.9% after reaffirming all its targets, including return on tangible equity of more than 13% in 2026.
Source: Investing.com (Reuters)
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