London’s blue-chip index ended modestly higher on Thursday, supported by gains in miners and defence stocks.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.2%, to 8,735.60. The FTSE 250 climbed 0.8%, to 21,474.66, while the AIM All-Share advanced 0.9%.
Miners were among the standout performers, boosted by firmer metals prices and risk appetite. Anglo American surged nearly 7%, while Antofagasta and Glencore added 6% and 5.5% respectively. BAE Systems gained 3.8% as NATO spending pledges continued to support the sector.
3i Group rose 4.8% after reporting solid momentum at discount retailer Action, which posted 6.9% like-for-like sales growth and opened 111 new stores year to date.
Oil majors BP and Shell edged higher. Shell formally denied reports it was in talks to acquire BP, stating no approach had been made and confirming it had “no intention” to bid.
Volex jumped 18% after reporting record earnings and lifting its dividend. Pretax profit rose 25% to $64.3 million, while revenue hit $1.09 billion, up 19% year-on-year.
Next 15 collapsed 28% as it warned full-year profit would fall materially short of expectations. It cited dollar weakness, investment costs and conversion delays at its innovation unit Mach49. The shares are now down around 75% over the past 12 months.
Wall Street helped underpin sentiment late in the session, with major US indices extending gains on rising expectations of interest rate cuts. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq climbed over 1%, both ending just points away from record highs. The Dow Jones advanced nearly 400 points, or 0.9%.
Fuel was added to the rate-cut narrative by reports that Donald Trump is weighing an early replacement for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump is considering announcing a successor as soon as September, frustrated by the Fed’s caution on cuts. Possible contenders include Kevin Hassett, Kevin Warsh and Scott Bessent, all seen as more dovish.