UK's midcap index at record high ahead of Bank of England rate call
UK's midcap index at record high ahead of Bank of England rate call For a Reuters live blog on US, UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Britain's midcap FTSE 250 index hit a record high and the blue-chip FTSE 100 rose to a near three-month peak on Thursday, boosted by bank stocks ahead of the Bank of England's policy decision.
The FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 0.5% to 10,888.64 points by 1034 GMT, while the FTSE 250 .FTMC climbed 0.6% to its all-time high.
The BoE is widely expected to deliver a 25-basis-point hike on Thursday, its first rate increase in three years, as inflation pressures linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran mount
Major central banks such as the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have already raised rates, and more hikes are priced in
Britain's inflation held at 3.5% in September, well above the BoE's target of 2%, data released last month showed
After rallying on Wednesday, banking stocks .FTNMX301010 extended gains, rising 1.3% to an over-one-week high. HSBC HSBA.L was the biggest boost with a 1.2% jump
Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 rose 5%, boosted by gold prices climbing to a two-week high, after marking their biggest one-day jump in three months in the last session GOL/
But pharma .FTNMX201030 and energy .FTNMX601010 sectors declined 0.3% and 0.5% respectively
Telecom firm BT Group BT.L gained 3.5% after beating second-quarter revenue estimates; the broader sector .FTNMX151020 rose 1.2%
Defence contractor BAE Systems BAES.L slid 4.1% to the bottom of the FTSE 100. The loss builds on Wednesday's 4% fall after the Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections raised concerns of a tighter military budget
Hikma Pharmaceuticals HIK.L bottomed the FTSE 250 with a 6% drop after the drugmaker lowered the higher end of its annual profit forecast range
(Reporting by Darshan Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
((darshan.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))