FTSE 100 Hits Fresh High, Gold Rebound Drives Mining Stocks Rally

The FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent on Tuesday morning, briefly touching a fresh record high and remaining in record territory as strong gains in precious metals supported mining shares.

The positive tone was mirrored across Europe, with the DAX rising 1.1 percent and the CAC 40 up 0.5 percent.

A sharp rebound in commodities lifted sentiment, with spot gold climbing 5.9 percent to about $4,933 and spot silver advancing more than 10 percent.

The move helped propel several of London’s largest miners to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard. Endeavour Mining rose 5.5 percent, Fresnillo gained 4.3 percent, Anglo American added 3.5 percent and Antofagasta increased 3.2 percent.

On the other end of the spectrum, JD Sports slipped 3.3 percent, while Relx fell 2.7 percent and Pearson declined 2.3 percent.

AstraZeneca also traded lower, down 1.3 percent in London after completing its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

In corporate news, A.G. Barr announced it had agreed to acquire Fentimans and Frobishers in transactions valued at £51 million. The announcement accompanied a full-year update showing a 4 percent rise in revenue to £437 million and an operating margin of around 14.7 percent.

Wizz Air reported carrying 5.35 million passengers in January, an 8.5 percent increase from a year earlier, with capacity up 10.5 percent. Its load factor slipped 1.6 percentage points to 84.4 percent.

Plus500 said it had entered the U.S. retail prediction markets segment through the launch of event-based contracts on its U.S. trading platform, offering products from Kalshi, a regulated exchange.