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* FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 up 0.2%
* Precious metal miners lead broader gains
* Barratt Developments falls after forecasting fall in
homebuild
targets
* US Fed Chair Powell’s comments on tap
July 10 (Reuters) – London stocks rebounded on Wednesday
amid broad-based gains after a slew of corporate updates, while
investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s
testimony to gauge the U.S. central bank’s monetary policy path.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.3%, after
logging its worst day in nearly a month on Tuesday, while the
mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 0.2% at 0722 GMT.
Travel and leisure stocks rose 0.9%. SSP
Group jumped 8.7% after the restaurant operator stuck
to its fiscal year forecasts.
Precious metal miners advanced 1.2% as gold
prices steadied ahead of a crucial U.S. inflation report.
Homebuilders were the biggest laggards on the
index, declining 1%. Barratt Developments, down 3%, hit
the bottom of the FTSE 100 index after forecasting an up to 7%
fall in its homebuild targets for fiscal year 2025.
Energy and industrial metal miners
dipped 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, in tandem
with oil and copper prices.
Investor focus is now on the second day of Powell’s
Congressional testimony. He stated on Tuesday that a rate cut
would not be appropriate before the Fed gains more confidence in
cooling inflation.
The comments come ahead of the crucial U.S. consumer price
index figures and Britain’s GDP numbers, both due on Thursday.
Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill is also scheduled
to speak at the UK’s Asia House think tank later in the day.
Travis Perkins climbed 2.6% after the construction
firm named Pete Redfern as its next CEO.
IAG topped the FTSE 100, gaining 3.2%, after Morgan
Stanley upgraded the British Airways owner to “Overweight” from
“Underweight”.
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi
Aich)
