(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - UK) London's blue-chips were in positive territory on Wednesday, climbing towards an 11-month high of 6745 struck last Thursday.
The FTSE 100 Index was 30.59 points to the good at 6727.96 while the FTSE 250 rose 59.69 points to 16965.95.
Among small-cap indices, the FTSE AIM 100 was 12.37 points up at 3494.47 and the FTSE AIM All-Share gained 1.46 points to 731.93.
The UK unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in May, yet weekly earnings growth missed estimates. UK salaries increased 2.2% year-on-year, versus 2.3% a month before.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya at London Capital Group said: "UK workers' purchasing power could take a hit given a steeper inflation outlook following the 'Brexit' decision."
In small-caps, semi-conductor industry supplier IQE plc (LON:IQE) ticked up 15.5% to 20.5p on news of significant increases in revenue and profit in the six months to June 30.
Air purification technology provider MayAir Group plc (LON:MAYA) rose 14.1% to 44.5p as it won US$10.6mln of contracts.
But Xtract Resources PLC (LON:XTR) subsided 30.8% to 0.0675p after placing 1.5bn of new shares to fund essential refurbishment work at its Chepica gold mine in Chile.
Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc (LON:OXP) was down 29.7% at 3.25p as the medicine redeveloper said a platform licence deal was less likely in the near-term.
Drug stocks led the top-flight higher, with Shire Plc (LON:SHP) up 1.89% at 4965p, while financial stocks were also doing well.
HSBC Holdings plc (LON:HSBA) advanced 1.86% to 496.15p and Worldpay Group PLC (LON:WPG) lifted 1.7% to 294.8p.
Admiral Group PLC (LON:ADM) was 1.47% brighter at 2075p after motor insurance firms gained access to penalty databases as well as sharp rise in premiums.
But miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) lost 6.1% at 764.1p after reporting disappointing diamond and copper output as it continued restructuring operations amid volatile commodity prices.
Preview at 7.10am
Footsie looked set for a solid start despite a mixed performance overnight in the US and Asia.
Spread bet firms see FTSE 100 adding up to 25 points when dealings get underway after yesterday's flat performance that saw the blue chip index close at 6,697.
US markets were also flat with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 26 at 18,559 and Nasdaq and the S & P 500 little changed.
Asia was mixed with good gains in Hong Kong but small losses in Tokyo and Shanghai.
Miners have been keeping Footsie buoyant recently on the earnings lift they will get from a weaker pound and today saw news from two heavyweights.
BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) and silver giant Fresnillo (LON:FRES) both issued trading updates.
Silver is enjoying a rally in prices at the moment, which makes the production stats all the more pertinent.
Fresnillo's production of 13mln oz of silver was well ahead of predictions of 11.3 mln oz.
Gold production at 218,000 oz, up 20% on a year ago, was also ahead of forecasts.
Meanwhile, global specialty pharma group Clinigen (LON:CLIN) also posted an update on trading.
Revenue and gross profit increased by 87% and 90% respectively versus last year, aided by the acquisition of distribution group Idis in April and Link Healthcare in October respectively.
Trading statements -
Revolution Bars Group Plc (LON:RBG), Anglo American PLC (LON: AAL), Severn Trent PLC (LON: SVT); Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES) and Clinigen Group (LON:CLIN).
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.