The FTSE 100 reversed early losses to close higher on Wednesday, gaining 15.31 points, or 0.1%, to 10,743.35, as falling bond yields and a surge in precious-metals stocks supported the London market.
Sentiment improved after the US Treasury announced plans to at least double buybacks of longer-dated government bonds, easing concerns after Tuesday’s sharp rise in global borrowing costs. US 30-year Treasury yields retreated to 5.20%, while UK 30-year gilt yields fell to 5.79%.
London’s mid-cap FTSE 250 gained 0.3% to 24,643.52, while the AIM All-Share jumped 0.9% to 801.54.
UK inflation accelerated to 2.9% in July from 2.6% in June, broadly matching market expectations, although core inflation remained slightly stronger than forecast at 2.6%. Despite the increase, analysts suggested the figures were unlikely to materially change the Bank of England’s outlook given continued weakness in the labour market.
Precious-metals miners were among London’s strongest performers as a weaker dollar helped gold surge to $4,483 an ounce. Fresnillo climbed 7.8% and Endeavour Mining gained 7.5%, while FTSE 250-listed Hochschild Mining advanced 8%.
Among individual mid-caps, Oxford Nanopore Technologies surged 14% after reporting a substantially narrower first-half loss and better-than-expected progress towards profitability.
By contrast, Trainline plunged 14% after the Competition & Markets Authority launched an investigation into concerns over whether customers are shown the full cost of tickets upfront.
Oil remained another focus for investors, with Brent crude climbing above $92 a barrel amid continued uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict.
