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FTSE 100 up 0.6%, FTSE 250 down 0.1%
Llyods Banking Group rises on lower motor finance scandal bill
Gold miners jump after metal price hits record high
Unite Group plunges after softer Q3 rental growth
Britain’s FTSE 100 hit a new intraday record on Wednesday, lifted by heavyweight financial stocks, while gold miners advanced after bullion prices reached all-time highs.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 9,536.39 as of 1042 GMT.
Financials led gains, with the banks index up 1.4%. Lloyds Banking Group gained 2.6% after London’s financial services regulator proposed a lower-than-feared redress package over motor finance mis-selling.
The sentiment propped up other banks, with Barclays adding 1.2%. HSBC also rose 1.1% after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock.
Precious metal miners outperformed peers after gold prices soared past $4,000 per ounce for the first time.
Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo rose 2.1% and 1.5%, respectively, placing the miners among the FTSE 100’s top performers.
In contrast, real estate stocks were the biggest drag on the mid-cap FTSE 250, which tracks more domestically focussed companies, down 0.1%. Unite Group dropped 9.8% to a more than five-year low, the biggest loser on the FTSE 250, after the student accommodation developer reported rental growth of 4% at the end of the third quarter, compared with a 8.2% growth a year ago.
Investors also watched trade developments as Prime Minister Keir Starmer began a two-day visit to India and said he wanted the trade deal with India, inked in July, implemented as soon as “humanly possible.”
The FTSE 100 rallied to record highs last week, posting new peaks in four out of five sessions, helped by resurgent healthcare stocks, which had lagged in the first half of the year.
On Wednesday, they gained 0.9%, with AstraZeneca up 1%.
Among other stocks, Vertu Motors fell 3.2% after warning of an annual profit hit from a cyberattack at Jaguar Land Rover, whose dealerships the motor retailer operates. (Reporting by Avinash P and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
