The FTSE 100 jumped 1.9% on Wednesday, its strongest one-day advance since May 6, as sentiment improved after the Democrats secured control of both chambers of the US Congress in the midterm elections. Banks led the rally, with HSBC climbing nearly 5%, and Lloyds, Barclays and Standard Chartered each adding around 4%. Consumer, healthcare and mining shares also gained ground.
Among individual movers, Marks & Spencer rose more than 6% after reporting first-half sales ahead of expectations, while Smith & Nephew advanced over 6% despite cutting its full-year guidance. By contrast, defence names and oil majors lagged the market. BAE Systems slid more than 3%, and Shell and BP fell 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively, as crude prices declined on reduced expectations of further US strikes against Iran. Weir dropped nearly 10% even as it reiterated its outlook. Attention now turns to Thursday’s Bank of England policy meeting, where a rate increase is widely anticipated.
