The FTSE 100 rose 0.9% on Tuesday, extending its advance into a third session and outperforming other major European indices. Gains were driven by continued strength in banking and pharmaceutical stocks, helped by lower oil prices and falling bond yields.
Among financials, HSBC added more than 1%, while Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays each gained around 1.5%. In healthcare, AstraZeneca and GSK climbed roughly 2% each.
Whitbread advanced more than 2% after reporting first-half profits that exceeded market expectations, underpinned by resilient hotel occupancy in both the UK and Germany. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance and urged shareholders to reject an approach from activist investor Corvex.
By contrast, mining stocks weighed on the index, with Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Glencore all ending lower, declining between 0.6% and 1.5%.
