{"id":140241,"title":"FTSE 100 gains as UK private sector hits four-month high","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2026-09-03T16:19:36+00:00","modified":"2026-09-03T16:27:02+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/ftse-100-gains-as-uk-private-sector-hits-four-month-high/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/ftse-100-gains-as-uk-private-sector-hits-four-month-high.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/ftse-100-gains-as-uk-private-sector-hits-four-month-high.json","category":"Blogs","categories":["Blogs","Technology","Technology, Media & Telecoms"],"tags":["Asia","Bangkok","Denmark","Endeavour Mining","Fed","Federal Reserve","Finland","FRANCE","FTSE 100","GERMANY","Glencore","Greenland plan","Hong kong","Japan","London","Manila","mining stocks","Mumbai","Nasdaq Composite","NATO alliance","Netherlands","Nikkei 225","Norway","S&P 500","shanghai","Singapore","Sweden","Sydney","Taiwan","UK","United States","Wall Street","Wellington"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/792975c2-daa8-4f87-92c9-b60b8774f86c.png?fit=1727%2C911&quality=80&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"London shares rallied on Thursday as investors welcomed signs of stronger momentum in the UK economy, with private-sector output expanding at its fastest pace in four months during August. The **FTSE 100 closed 0.70% higher at 10,831.52**, while the **FTSE 250 gained 0.71% to 24,496.13**.\n\nElsewhere, Wall Street was firmly higher, with the **Dow Jones Industrial Average up 620 points, or 1.17%, at 53,676**, while the **S&P 500 gained 1% to 7,744**. The technology-heavy **Nasdaq 100 rose 1.12% to 29,470**, adding to the positive tone across global equity markets.\n\nAttention now turns to Friday’s **US nonfarm payrolls report**, which could prove decisive for expectations surrounding the Federal Reserve’s September interest-rate decision.\n\n**Fed Governor Chris Waller** said he would be prepared to support a rate increase if incoming inflation data showed price pressures accelerating, with markets also awaiting next week’s US inflation figures.\n\nIn London, **Prudential gained 3.5%** after Berenberg initiated coverage with a ‘buy’ rating, while the stronger gold price supported precious-metals miners. **Endeavour Mining** rose 3.6% and Fresnillo gained 2.9% as gold climbed above **$4,500 an ounce**.\n\nOn the FTSE 250, **Hilton Food Group surged 12%** after upgrading its 2026 adjusted pretax profit guidance to between £66 million and £71 million, from £60 million to £65 million previously.\n\nWPP gained 5.6% amid expectations it could benefit from changes in the global advertising account landscape following Publicis’ reported PepsiCo win.\n\nElsewhere, **Jet2 rose 3.9%** after announcing plans to transfer its entire share capital from AIM to the London Stock Exchange’s main market before the end of its current financial year. The company also reported a 7.6% increase in summer 2026 seat capacity to 19.9 million."}