FTSE 100 edges higher on boost from HSBC, Melrose; miners keep gains in check (updated)
21/10/2025 17:25
FTSE 100 up 0.25%, FTSE 250 up 0.18% Segro gains on strong results Precious metal miners slump tracking lower gold price Updates after markets close OCT 21 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, lifted by shares of Melrose and HSBC, while losses in precious miners kept gains in check. Heavyweight HSBC HSBA.L rose 1.8% after hiring banking veteran and former NatWest NWG.L executive David Lindberg to become the CEO of its UK business. Its shares powered a 1.2% rise in the banks .FTNMX301010 index. GKN Aerospace owner Melrose Industries MRON.L advanced 5.3% as GE Aerospace GE.N raised its full-year earnings forecast for a second time in four months. Both the benchmark FTSE 100 .FTSE and the domestically focused FTSE 250 .FTMC rose about 0.2%, each. Precious metal miners index .FTNMX551030 slid 11.1% to register its worst day in over ten months as gold XAU= and silver XAG= dropped 5% and 7% respectively after a record breaking run this year. GOL/ Fresnillo FRES.L fell 14%, while Endeavour Mining EDV.L tumbled 9.8% - both logging their worst day in nearly four years. This stocks were the worst performers in the FTSE 100. UK's borrowing for the April to September period came in at its highest level on record, excluding during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. This data adds further pressure on finance minister Rachel Reeves as she prepares next month's budget. The data also comes ahead of UK's price report on Wednesday, which is likely to show inflation rate hit 4% in September, the highest among the world's big rich economies and double the Bank of England's target. Governor Andrew Bailey and his colleagues say the outlook for inflation is still unclear, making it hard to predict when interest rates are likely to be cut again. Among individual stocks, Serica Energy SQZ.L advanced 4.3% after the oil company resumed production at Triton offloading vessel following a temporary shutdown. Segro SGRO.L reported improved rent signing in the third quarter, sending its shares up 2.9%. Meanwhile, Shawbrook is targeting a market cap of up to 2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion) in its London IPO, signalling a strong investor appetite for the lender's listing. ($1 = 0.7451 pounds) (Reporting by Medha Singh and Avinash P; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Maju Samuel)