LONDON, Jan 19 — British shares rose today, as a jump in HSBC’s shares and encouraging production report from miner Rio Tinto lifted sentiment at a time when tighter coronavirus-led restrictions have raised concerns about the pace of an economic recovery.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.7 per cent after two consecutive sessions of declines, while the mid-cap index gained 0.2 per cent.
HSBC Holdings rose three per cent, giving the biggest boost to the blue-chip index.
Miner Rio Tinto rose 1.4 after reporting a 2.4 per cent rise in fourth-quarter iron ore shipments, helped by increased demand from China.
British firms called for another £7.6 billion (RM42 billion) of emergency government help, saying they cannot wait until finance minister Rishi Sunak’s March budget to learn if they will get more pandemic support.
Shares of Experian Plc, the world’s largest credit data firm, gained 1.2 per cent after its third-quarter revenue growth exceeded targets, helped by strong US mortgage volumes. — Reuters
