UK’s FTSE 100 rises on mining boost; Fed decision awaited

UK’s FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday as mining stocks extended gains, tracking higher metal prices, while Robert Walters’ profit warning weighed on fellow recruitment firms listed on the midcap index. The resource-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, its third straight session of gains.

Industrial metal miners continued their recent rally, gaining 2.8% as copper prices rose on a softer dollar and expectations of further stimulus to boost growth in top consumer China.

The domestically focused FTSE 250 midcap index edged 0.1% lower as recruitment firms Hays and Pagegroup lost 6.3% and 6.2%, respectively, following Robert Walters’ warning that its profit may be significantly lower than market expectations.

Robert Walters shares tanked 13.7%.

Investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates later in the day, while the European Central Bank will announce its decision on interest rates on Thursday.

“The path that the Fed sees for interest rates in the U.S. is going to set the tone for global markets for the rest of this month,” said Giles Coghlan, chief market analyst at HYCM.

Official UK data

showed retailers and the film industry helped Britain’s economy inch higher in April, despite contractions in manufacturing and construction, reflecting slow growth rather than recession. A strong labour market report on Tuesday increased the odds for the Bank of England to raise rates once again when it meets next week.

Vodafone gained 0.6% after the mobile operator and CK Hutchison struck a $19 billion deal to merge their British mobile operations.

Gaming company Entain dropped 8.7% on a deal to buy Poland’s STS Holdings.

Aston Martin advanced 7.1% after Jefferies upgraded the luxury carmaker’s rating to “hold” from “underperform”.

Games Workshop Group jumped 5.9% after the miniature wargame maker forecast higher full-year earnings.

British equities have seesawed in a narrow range for the last few sessions on concerns over persistent BoE rate hikes and volatility in commodity prices.