British equities edged higher on Friday, set for weekly gains, led by a jump in precious metal miners and broader strength across the board, while data showed Britain’s economy grew in February, showing signs of exiting inflation.
he exporter-heavy FTSE 100 was up 0.8% as of 7:15 GMT, and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose nearly 0.9%. Both indexes look set for weekly gains.
Precious metal miners led sectoral gains with a 3.9% rise after gold prices rose to a historic peak.
Industrial metal miners followed with a 2.2% uptick as Shanghai aluminium prices touched two-year highs as funds pumped money into commodities, including metals to hedge against rising inflation.
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Britain’s economic output grew by 0.1% in February, in line with a Reuters poll of economists. January’s reading was revised higher, pointing to an exit from recession in early 2024.
Among individual stocks, BP gained 2.2% after the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company recently considered buying the energy giant, but the deliberations did not progress beyond preliminary discussions.
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