London’s FTSE 100 climbed on Thursday, driven by strong earnings updates from firms including Barclays, Whitbread and Standard Chartered, although shares of Sainsbury hit the bottom of the index after profit warning due to the cost-of-living crisis.

The blue-chip index rose 0.5%, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index advanced0.4%.

Standard Chartered jumped 10.4% to the top of FTSE 100 index after the emerging markets-focused lender posted a forecast-beating 6% rise in its quarterly profit, benefiting from higher interest rates aimed at controlling inflation.

FTSE 100 rises on gains in miners, strong earnings; Aveva slumps

Shares of Barclays gained 1.6% after the lender reported a smaller-than-expected fall in its quarterly profit, as it saw strong trading profits from market volatility caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Whitbread added 2.6% after the Premier Inn owner resumed dividend payments to shareholders and said its future bookings in leisure and business segments at its British hotels have surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Bucking the positive mood, Sainsbury’s fell 3.8% after the supermarket group followed market leader Tesco in flagging lower annual profit due to soaring inflation, taking the shine off a more than doubling in profit for its 2021-22 year.