On Thursday, U.K. stocks experienced a significant upswing following comments from Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey. He noted that inflation in the U.K. is declining more swiftly than anticipated by central bankers, which has heightened expectations of a potential interest rate cut on November 7th.
Governor Bailey remarked at an Institute of International Finance event in Washington D.C., "Disinflation is transpiring more rapidly than anticipated, although there remain open questions regarding potential structural changes within the economy."
Concurrently, investors largely dismissed a survey indicating that U.K. business growth had reached an 11-month low in October.
The FTSE 100 index rose by 63 points, or 0.8%, reaching 8,321, recovering from a 0.6% fall the previous day.
Indivior saw a 9% increase, buoyed by strong third-quarter results. In contrast, asset manager Abrdn dropped by 8% following reports of unexpectedly high client fund withdrawals in the same period.
Essentra advanced approximately 1%, with the essential components manufacturer affirming that its adjusted operating profits for FY24 would align with market forecasts.
GSK also increased by 1% after unveiling favorable new data for its RSV vaccine, Arexvy, in younger adults.
Despite confirming its full-year outlook, Bunzl, a distribution and outsourcing firm, saw a 2.4% decline in its stock. Conversely, Barclays shares surged by almost 4% after the lender reported third-quarter profits exceeding expectations.
Global mining company Anglo American rose by 4.1% following an upward revision in its platinum and nickel production guidance. Finally, consumer goods titan Unilever climbed 3.9%, driven by slightly stronger-than-anticipated results in its underlying quarterly sales.
