London’s FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, supported by a slew of upbeat earnings reports from industry giants like Sainsbury’s and Shell, while investors focused on the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision due later in the day.
The internationally-focused FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 0808 GMT.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 1% and was on track for a five-session winning streak.
Shell gained 0.8% as the global energy major reported third-quarter profit in line with expectations and announced a share buyback programme of $3.5 billion over the next three months.
The broader oil and gas index was up 0.6% on the news, with higher oil prices also supporting the gains.
Investors will closely monitor the BoE’s monetary policy meeting where the central bank is widely expected to hold borrowing costs at a 15-year high of 5.25%.
Supermarket group Sainsbury’s climbed 5.1% after forecasting full-year profit at the upper half of its previous guidance.
UK’s FTSE 100 muted at open, BP tumbles
Smith+ Nephew beat market expectations for third-quarter revenue on strong demand for its medical products, and named John Rogers, former finance boss of ad group WPP , as its new chief financial officer.
The stock jumped 4.2%, while the medical equipment and services index climbed 3.7%, leading sectoral gains.
Entain shares slipped 5.1% as the owner of Ladbrokes betting shops posted a fall in online net gaming revenue for the third quarter.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.