FTSE 100 climbs 1.18% to 10,764.49 at midday

The FTSE 100 advanced 1.18% to 10,764.49 points by 12:21 GMT on Wednesday, November 4, equivalent to 13:21 Berlin time. The index was trading 126.06 points above the previous session's close of 10,638.43, a rise of 1.1853% calculated from those two levels. The figure and intraday movement were reported by Reuters via Yahoo Finance.

Banks provide the main support

Banking stocks were up 4.3% as a group and were providing the biggest lift to the index. HSBC, Standard Chartered, NatWest Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays gained between 3.6% and 4.8% in the cited market update. Investors were also looking ahead to the Bank of England's policy decision, with markets largely expecting a 25-basis-point rate increase.

The banking advance followed a weaker prior session. The FTSE 100 had closed 1.14% lower at 10,638.43 points on November 3, according to the latest FTSE 100 coverage. Wednesday's move therefore represented a recovery of most of that decline, although the intraday gain did not establish a new closing level.

Miners join the rally

Precious-metal miners rose nearly 6.2%, tracking a 3% increase in gold prices. The weaker US dollar after the Democrats' sweep of both chambers in the US midterm elections was cited as a factor supporting gold and mining shares. Lion Finance Group gained 7.5% after announcing a 62 million Georgian lari share buyback.

Market breadth was not uniform. Engineering company Weir fell 7.7% after flagging shorter-term headwinds from the Middle East conflict and disruptions at Chilean mines, despite maintaining its annual outlook. Defence shares were also under pressure in early London trading as investors assessed the potential policy implications of the US election result, while the market continued to focus on Thursday's Bank of England decision.

For further FTSE 100 developments, see the FTSE 100 topic page.