FTSE 100 climbs 1% on banks, miners boost
FTSE 100 climbs 1% on banks, miners boost Updates to market close
By Darshan Kumar R
Nov 4 - Britain's FTSE 100 closed at a two-week high on Wednesday as banks rallied ahead of an expected rate hike this week, while the weakening of the dollar following the Democrats' sweep of the US midterms lifted gold prices and shares of precious metal miners.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 1.79% to 10,829.21 points, marking its biggest one-day percentage gain since early May; the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC climbed 0.98% to a two-month high.
Banking stocks .FTNMX301010, up 4.48%, posted their biggest one-day gain in nearly six months and provided the biggest lift to the FTSE 100
HSBC HSBA.L, Standard Chartered STAN.L, NatWest Group NWG.L, Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L and Barclays BARC.L rose between 3.6% and 5.4% each
Bank stocks advanced as markets geared up for the Bank of England's policy announcement, where a quarter-point rate hike is largely priced in
"Banks have massively underperformed this year... if you do have a rate hike, it obviously increases that net interest income, which can be a bonus; it would be supportive," said Fiona Cincotta, senior markets analyst at City Index
Metro Bank MTRO.L jumped nearly 17.43%, topping the midcap FTSE 250, after reaffirming all its forecasts
Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 rose nearly 6.51%, marking their biggest one-day gain in nearly three months, tracking a 3% rise in gold prices GOL/
The dollar declined as markets assessed the implications of a Democratic sweep in the US midterms, including the risk of tougher AI regulations and slower economic growth USD/
Stronger-than-expected first-half results from Marks & Spencer MKS.L, driven by robust food sales, helped push the Personal Care, Drug and Grocery sector .FTNMX452010 2.66% higher
Oil prices tumbled, with Brent crude futures falling 4.3% and dropping below the psychological $100-a-barrel. The broader energy sector .FTNMX601010 fell 2.15% extending its decline to a third consecutive session
Engineering firm Weir WEIR.L fell x%, among the top FTSE 100 laggards, after flagging shorter-term headwinds from Middle East conflict and Chilean mine disruptions, despite maintaining its annual outlook
(Reporting by Darshan Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
((darshan.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))