FTSE 100 Moderately Higher; Miners Move Up

(RTTNews) - U.K.'s equity benchmark FTSE 100 is moderately higher a little past noon on Wednesday with stocks gaining some ground in positive territory on bargain hunting after two successive days of steep declines.

U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that the U.S. Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz to safeguard maritime trade in the Gulf and help stabilize surging global energy prices, is aiding sentiment a bit.

The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has confirmed its readiness to extend political risk insurance and guarantees for energy shipments passing through the Gulf.

Shares of mining companies are finding good support, while bank stocks are turning in a mixed performance after recent fall.

The FTSE 100 was up 59.70 points or 0.57% at 10,543.83 nearly half an hour past noon.

Miners Antofagasta, Anglo American Plc and Fresnillo are gaining 4.2%, 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively. Endeavour Mining is up 1.7%, Glencore is up 1.5% and Rio Tinto is advancing 1.3%.

Metlen Energy & Materials is rising 4.2%. Informa, Intertek Group, Entain, Standard Life, Next, Imperial Brands, St. James's Place, JD Sports Fashion, Croda International, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Marks & Spencer, Aviva, Sainsbury (J), Tesco and M&G are up 1.7%-3%.

Weir Group is declining 8.4% after full-year earnings dropped from last year.

Autotrader Group is down more than 2%, while BP, LSEG, The Sage, Group, Shell, Bunzl and Melrose Industries are down 1%-1.6%.

British homebuilder Vistry Group is down nearly 20% after an announcement that its executive chairman Greg Fitzgerald would step down over the next year.

The S&P Global UK Composite PMI stood at 53.7 in February 2026, unchanged from January's 17-month high but slightly below the preliminary estimate of 53.9. The reading signaled a solid expansion in private sector activity, extending the current growth streak to ten months.

The S&P Global UK Services PMI was confirmed at 53.9 in February 2026, just below January's 54 five-month high.