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* HSBC reports better-than-expected results
* Darktrace slumps on brokerage initiating 'sell' coverage
* Inflation pressure from energy prices to fade - BoE's
Tenreyro
* FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 flat
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar
Oct 25 (Reuters) - London's blue-chip index gained on Monday
as higher commodity prices lifted oil and mining stocks, while
shares in HSBC rose after the Asia-focussed bank reported a
higher-than-expected profit.
The FTSE 100 ended 0.3% higher, with HSBC
adding 1.9% to hit a more-than four month high after the bank
reported a 74% rise in third-quarter profit and announced a
share buyback of $2 billion.
Miners were the biggest boost to the index,
adding 2.0% as copper prices rebounded from a fall last week, as
inventories in Shanghai exchange warehouses dropped to a more
than 12-year low.
Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell climbed
1.6% and 1.5% respectively, as crude prices hit multi-year highs
amid tightening supply and rising fuel demand.
Bolstered by soaring oil and gas prices fuelled by a supply
shortage, UK's energy sector has gained nearly
38.8% this year, outperforming the 12.2% rise in the blue-chip
FTSE 100 index.
"Whatever you raise interest rates to in the UK, it is not
going to have a material impact on the price of gas or oil,
because there is a genuine shortage," said Stuart Cole, macro
economist at Equiti Capital. "So if you're a producer, it is
happy days."
Bank of England rate setter Silvana Tenreyro said the rise
in inflation pressure from surging energy prices was likely to
fade quickly, while also adding that she needed more time to
judge how the end of the government's job-saving furlough scheme
was affecting the labour market, adding to signs that she sees
no urgency to raise rates.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index was flat,
with Darktrace Plc among the worst performers on the
index, down 20.7%, after Peel Hunt initiated coverage with
"sell" rating.
Africa-focused Tullow Oil Plc gained 1.4% after it
named Phuthuma Nhleko, former boss of South African telecom
major MTN Group, the chairman-designate on Monday.
Gold mining company Petropavlovsk PLC fell 1.5%
after it reported a fall in year-on-year gold production in the
third quarter.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar;
Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and David Evans)