(Reuters) -UK’s FTSE 100 firmed on Wednesday after two straight days of losses, buoyed by gains in shares of heavyweight GSK and gold miners, while investors turned their focus to the Bank of England’s rate decision this week.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended 0.6% higher, while the domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 firmed 0.5%.
GSK jumped 7.6% after the launched a 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) share buyback and lifted its long-term sales target to nearly $50 billion.
Meanwhile, precious metal miners surged 3.6%, as gold prices hit another record high. Fresnillo climbed 5.8%, boosted further by J.P.Morgan naming it its “top pick.” [GOL/]
All eyes will be on the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision on Thursday, with markets having fully priced in a 25-basis-point cut.
“We expect the BoE to cut rates by 25bp and easing guidance will be strengthened relative to market expectations. At least one 25bp cut per quarter should be in play as growth risks remain heavily to the downside,” said Geoff Yu, senior market strategist at BNY.
Ferrexpo slumped 8% to the bottom of the mid-cap index, extending losses to the second session after the miner on Tuesday said a civil claim worth 157 billion hryvnias ($3.77 billion) was filed against its Ukrainian unit.
(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Medha Singh in Bangalore; Editing by David Gregorio)
