LONDON: Banking and energy stocks lifted Britain’s blue-chip FTSE 100 on Wednesday, as investors bet on more US stimulus and crude oil prices hit a 11-month high after Saudi Arabia agreed to cut more output than expected.
The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 index rose 1% in its third consecutive session of gains. Lenders HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered provided the biggest boost with gains between 5.4% and 6.5%.
Investors globally watched the tight election race in Georgia for the control of US Senate, with markets widely bracing for a Democratic sweep that could result in a bigger fiscal stimulus.
Oil heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell rose almost 4%.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, said it would make additional, voluntary oil output cuts of 1 million barrels per day in February and March.
In company news, the world’s largest exhibitions group Informa Plc rose 2.1% even after forecasting a more than 70% plunge in its 2020 profit. British baker and fast food retailer Greggs traded higher at 7.8% after it said sales decline had slowed, but warned it does not expect profit to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022.
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