U.K. equities finished the session stronger on Wednesday as a trio of sectors - Banking, Software & Computer Services and Mining - pushed the market higher. The Investing.com United Kingdom 100 index rose 1.08% and closed at a fresh all-time high.
Top and bottom movers
The session's largest gainer on the index was HSBC Holdings PLC (LON:HSBA), which climbed 7.95%, adding 102.60 points to finish at 1,394.00. Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES) followed with a 7.29% rise, up 294.00 points to close at 4,326.00, and Relx PLC (LON:REL) advanced 6.13%, gaining 139.39 points to end the day at 2,412.39.
On the downside, Diageo PLC (LON:DGE) recorded the steepest decline, sliding 12.70% or 238.00 points to close at 1,636.00. HALEON PLC (LON:HLN) fell 6.85%, down 27.80 points to 377.90, and Croda International PLC (LON:CRDA) dropped 3.08%, shedding 99.00 points to finish at 3,113.00.
Market breadth and notable records
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the London Stock Exchange by 1,013 to 740, while 548 stocks ended unchanged. HSBC's share price move pushed it to an all-time high for the session, closing at 1,394.00 after the 7.95% gain.
Commodities and currencies
In commodity markets, Gold Futures for April delivery rose 1.13% - gaining 58.46 - to settle at $5,234.76 per troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery declined 0.20%, down $0.13, to $65.50 a barrel. The May Brent contract inched higher by 0.13%, up $0.09, to trade at $70.67 a barrel.
Foreign exchange moves accompanied the equity gains. The pound strengthened against the dollar, with GBP/USD up 0.44% to 1.36. EUR/GBP moved 0.17% to 0.87. Meanwhile, US Dollar Index Futures were trading lower, down 0.18% at 97.59.
What this means
The day's action showed concentrated strength among large-cap banking, software and mining stocks which collectively supported the broader index to a record close. At the same time, notable weakness in selected consumer and healthcare names weighed on parts of the market, producing a mix of sector-level winners and losers.