Bank, Mining Stocks Lift FTSE 100

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks moved higher on Wednesday as lower oil prices and softening bond yields aided sentiment. Investors also digested the latest batch of earnings updates and economic data, in addition to following the political news from the U.S.

In the US midterm elections, Democrats took control of both houses of Congress in a dramatic win. The defeat of the Republicans in the midterm elections has helped ease concerns over tech regulation, trade policy and the U.S. budget deficit.

Tech stocks gained in strength, buoyed by AMD's record third-quarter revenue thanks to strong sales of AI chips.

Brent crude front-month futures fell to $101.55 before recovering to $102.10, still down as much as 1.4% from previous close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 130.94 points or 1.23% at 10,769.37 a few minutes past noon.

Lion Finance moved up 7.7%. The company's bottom line came in at GEL661.88 million, or GEL15.42 per share. This compares with GEL547.19 million, or GEL12.58 per share, last year.

The company's revenue for the period rose 22.6% to GEL1.145 billion from GEL934.15 million last year.

Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining and Antofagasta gained 6.8%, 6.5% and 5.2%, respectively. Anglo American Plc advanced 4.1% and Rio Tinto moved up 2.7%, while Glencore gained 2.5%.

Bank stocks Standard Chartered, HSBC Holdings and Barclays moved up 5.2%, 4.7% and 4.3%, respectively. Lloyds Banking Group and Natwest Group both surged 4%.

Burberry Group, St. James's Place, Associated British Foods, Autotrader Group, Icg, Games Workshop, Aberdeen Group and Pershing Square Holdings gained 2%-3%.

Marks & Spencer Group gained more than 2%. The retailer reported a sharp rise in half-year profit despite the "onslaught of cost headwinds" facing the industry.

Trainline shares tumbled 4%. The rail ticket retailer said its first-half profit dropped from last year.

Weir tanked 7.6% despite reporting a year-over-year increase of 8% in third quarter group orders.

BAE Systems dropped 3.7%. Ithaca Energy shed 2.7%, while Computacenter, Babcock International and Spirax Group drifted lower by 2%, 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively.

On the economic front, the S&P Global UK Composite PMI edged up to 52.9 in October, from 52 in September, slightly below the flash estimate of 53.1 but marking its highest level since February.

The S&P Global UK Services PMI rose to 52.8 in October, up from 52.1 in September, although below the preliminary estimate of 53.1. Nevertheless, the latest reading signaled the fastest expansion in services activity since February, supported by improving customer demand and stronger order books.