FTSE 100 climbs 1% as banks and miners boost
EWU•Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.18% to 10,764.49 points, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.83%. Banks rallied ahead of an expected Bank of England rate hike, and precious metal miners rose as gold prices climbed.
1. Banks and miners rise
The FTSE 100 advanced on Wednesday, with banking stocks up 4.3% ahead of the Bank of England’s policy decision, where markets largely expected a 25-basis-point rate hike. HSBC, Standard Chartered, NatWest Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays rose between 3.6% and 4.8%. Precious metal miners gained nearly 6.2%, tracking a 3% rise in gold prices as the dollar weakened.
2. Company moves
Lion Finance Group rose 7.5% after announcing a 62 million Georgian lari ($24.2 million) share buyback. Weir fell 7.7% after flagging shorter-term headwinds from Middle East conflict and Chilean mine disruptions, while maintaining its annual outlook. Metro Bank jumped 13.9% after reaffirming its targets, including return on tangible equity of more than 13% in 2026, over 15% in 2027 and above 18% in 2028.
