Commodity, bank stocks lift UK shares higher ahead of budget By Reuters

(Reuters) – British shares rose on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in commodity and banking stocks, while investors awaited Finance Minister Rishi Sunak’s budget plan as the country tries to recover from a coronavirus-inflicted economic shock.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 1.0%, with mining stocks including Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Anglo American (LON:AAL) and BHP gaining between 1% and 1.6%. (OR)

Banking stocks, mainly HSBC Holdings Plc (LON:HSBA), Prudential (LON:PRU) Plc and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) Plc were among the biggest boost to the index, followed by oil heavyweights BP (LON:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa).

Sunak will promise to do “whatever it takes”, including a five-month extension of Britain’s huge jobs rescue plan, to steer the economy through what he hopes will be the final months of COVID-19 restrictions.

The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose 0.6%, led by industrials stocks.

Polymetal, one of Russia’s largest gold and silver producers, rose 4.3%, after posting a record high net earnings of $1.1 billion in 2020 on stronger global prices for precious metals.

Britain’s second-largest homebuilder, Persimmon (LON:PSN), fell 0.6%, as it reported a 25% slump in annual pre-tax profit.