FTSE 100 Edges Higher as Banks Gain and Oil Prices Stabilise

London’s FTSE 100 edged higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in major banking stocks as investors monitored developments in the Middle East and movements in global oil markets.

The blue-chip index rose 0.17% to 10,726.56 points by 0946 GMT, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 slipped 0.24%. The advance followed a 0.29% decline in the FTSE 100 in the previous session, when banks and telecommunications companies weighed on the market.

HSBC gained 0.9% and Standard Chartered rose 1.3%, helping the banking sector recover after falling more than 1% on Tuesday. Britain’s energy sector also advanced 0.8% as oil prices remained near their lowest level in more than two weeks.

Oil prices have been pressured by improving Gulf supplies and expectations of diplomatic progress in the Middle East. Investors are closely watching developments involving the United States and Iran because any sustained improvement in crude supplies could ease inflationary pressure.

Elsewhere, engineering company Renishaw rose 3.7% to its highest level in more than five years after reporting better-than-expected annual adjusted pretax profit. AstraZeneca fell 1.1%, weighing on the index, while JD Sports dropped 3.8% after reporting a 19.7% decline in first-half profit, hurt by weakness in North America.