London stocks up for 2nd day

London stocks edged up for a second day on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 increasing by 0.7 per cent and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.6 per cent by 0710 GMT.

Financial stocks led the gains, with banks rising 1.4 per cent and investment banking stocks up 1.7 per cent, buoyed by strong earnings from Quilter and TP ICAP.

Homebuilders saw a 1.3 per cent increase following July’s strong housing price data. Precious metal miners dipped 0.1 per cent, while gold prices stabilised after recent declines.

Recession fears in the US had driven a market rout earlier in the week, but recovery was aided by positive US data and Federal Reserve comments. WPP dropped 1.3 per cent due to a revenue forecast cut and stake sale, while Coca-Cola HBC fell 2.3 per cent despite raising its profit and revenue forecasts.

Attribution: Reuters