UK stocks rose on Tuesday tracking global gains, as markets cheered fresh stimulus measures in China that lifted shares of miners and luxury-focused retailers.
At 0715 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.5%, while the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 midcap index advanced 0.3%.
Regulators in China unveiled broad stimulus measures, including rate cuts and moves aimed at reviving the stock market, in an attempt to spark growth in the country’s faltering economy.
Equities rose globally following the announcement, soothing some concerns about the impact of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
London-listed industrial miners jumped 5% to a nearly one-month high, as metal prices rose on expectations of higher demand.
Shares of miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore rose between 4.5% and 5.8%.
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Burberry gained 3.7%, rising along with other European luxury companies, buoyed by hopes of demand revival in the Chinese market.
Elsewhere, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said in an interview published Tuesday that he was “very encouraged” by the downwards path of inflation and that interest rates were gradually heading lower.
Smiths Group fell 6.3% after the engineering group announced acquisitions of two North American companies, while posting a slight miss in its annual profit.
Dunelm dipped 6%, after top shareholder Will Adderley and his private investment firm sold a nearly 5% stake in the homeware retailer, according to bookrunner Barclays.
Investors’ focus would also be on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaking to a Labour Party annual conference, a day after Finance Minister Rachel Reeves ruled out a return to economic austerity.
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