London’s FTSE 100 traded higher at midday on Wednesday, 11 November, as recovering oil, copper and gold prices lifted heavyweight energy and mining stocks, helping offset weakness among housebuilders and concerns about further interest rate increases.
At 12.15 pm GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.38% at 10,792.94 points, a gain of 41 points, while the FTSE 250 climbed 0.44% to 24,855.39.
Energy shares rose 1.9%, breaking a seven-session losing streak, as crude oil prices recovered from two-month lows reached during the previous session.
BP climbed 2.7% and Shell gained 1.6%, making the oil majors important contributors to the FTSE 100’s advance.
The recovery in energy stocks followed a period of pressure on crude prices amid changing expectations surrounding the US-Iran conflict and the outlook for global oil supplies.
Industrial metals miners gained almost 2% as copper prices strengthened, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore advancing between 2.3% and 2.6%.
Precious metals producers also benefited from stronger commodity markets, with the sector rising 1.8% as gold prices rebounded approximately 0.4%.
The gains helped support London’s resource-heavy blue-chip index despite continued uncertainty across international financial markets.
Housebuilders moved in the opposite direction, declining 1.4%, as investors assessed the prospect of higher UK borrowing costs and their potential impact on mortgage affordability and housing demand.
The weakness followed a forecast from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) suggesting stronger UK economic growth during 2026 but warning that inflation may not return to the Bank of England’s 2% target until late 2030.
The forecast highlights the challenge facing policymakers as they balance economic growth against persistent price pressures.
Financial markets were pricing in approximately a 69% probability of a further 25-basis-point Bank of England interest rate increase in December, according to figures attributed to LSEG.
The expectations follow the Bank’s decision earlier this month to raise Bank Rate to 4%, its first increase in more than three years.
Higher interest rates could increase mortgage costs and restrain borrowing, helping explain the weakness among housebuilding companies.
Spirax Group was among the FTSE 100’s stronger performers, rising 2.4% after the industrial engineering company reported that organic sales growth and adjusted operating profit margins for the first ten months of the year remained in line with expectations.
The company also indicated that trading performance had improved compared with the first half, providing some reassurance about demand and profitability.
ITV fell 3.9%, placing it among the FTSE 250’s notable decliners, after the broadcaster warned that advertising revenue could fall by as much as 10% in the fourth quarter.
The outlook reflects continued pressure on television advertising expenditure, with businesses remaining cautious about marketing budgets amid economic uncertainty.
International markets also remained sensitive to monetary policy expectations after stronger-than-expected US inflation figures increased the prospect of another Federal Reserve interest rate rise.
The FTSE 100’s midday advance demonstrated the importance of energy and mining companies to London’s market performance, with recovering commodity prices helping the index withstand pressure from higher bond yields and weaker interest-rate-sensitive sectors.
Attention will now turn to Thursday’s UK third-quarter GDP and industrial production figures, which could influence expectations for the Bank of England’s December decision and provide further insight into the strength of the domestic economy.
