- China stimulus hopes lift miners
- EasyJet climbs after forecasting smaller loss
- Endeavour Mining, Centamin rise on Liberum upgrade
- FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.7%
Jan 24 (Reuters) - The UK's blue-chip index rose on Wednesday, buoyed by China-exposed stocks following measures taken by the central bank to support the economy, while shares in Easyjet surged after the airline forecast a smaller loss.
Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore climbed between 2.1% and 3.3% after China's central bank governor said it will cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves from Feb. 5, bolstering efforts to shore up a fragile economic recovery.
Asia-exposed insurer Prudential rose 1.4%, while luxury firm Burberry added 2.3%.
"It has always been our view that while the market was expecting a big infrastructure stimulus type of announcement, the piecemeal measures that are in place, taken together, would be enough to underpin growth in the region," said Frederique Carrier, head of investment strategy for RBC Wealth Management.
"So we are still involved in China, but it's a lot more selective in terms of our holdings."
The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 edged up 0.3%, while domestically oriented FTSE 250 index added 0.7%.
Broader European markets also got a boost from upbeat earnings reports after New York's S&P 500 closed at a record high for the third consecutive session on Tuesday.
The pound got a lift from a survey that showed British services firms saw another uptick in growth this month, adding to signs of a modest recovery, though factories are now grappling with the inflationary impact of tensions in the Red Sea.
EasyJet advanced 4.5% after the airline operator forecast a smaller first-half loss and strong summer bookings despite a writedown of about 40 million pounds ($51 million) due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Endeavour Mining jumped 6.7% and Centamin added 6.4% after Liberum upgraded their shares to "buy," saying gold equities will shine this year amid global war and trade tensions if Donald Trump is re-elected as the U.S. president.
Staying with precious metal miners, Fresnillo Plc climbed 5.6% and Hochschild Mining added 7.9% following the production numbers.
Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil
Source: Reuters