Dec 27 (Reuters) - British equities moved higher on Wednesday led by a rise in metal miners, while investors latched on to the year-end optimism that major central banks including the Bank of England could begin cutting interest rates in the upcoming year.
By 9:38 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.6% and FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) was up 0.3%, touching its highest level since March 2023.
Precious metal miners (.FTNMX551030) moved 1.2% higher, mainly supported by expectations of interest rate cuts in the U.S. next year.
Shares in industrial metal miners (.FTNMX551020) added 1.3%, leading sectoral gains, as prices of most base metals rose after data showed manufacturing activity in top consumer China improved last month, while a weak U.S. dollar also lent support to the market.
"The Chinese government is now boosting the industrial side of the things, reverting back from their focus on consumers because that's obviously not working well," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank.
"But the truth of the matter is they are not necessarily on the investor side, they do have their own agenda".
The automobile and parts (.FTNMX401010) sector was the biggest outlier, slipping 0.3%.
The FTSE 100 is set to end the year on a higher note, driven by expectations that the Fed could begin cutting rates as early as March, with other central bankers to follow.
In corporate news, Anglo American (AAL.L) shares climbed 3.4% to the top of the FTSE 100 index on a report that the miner was looking to sell part of its stake in a $9 billion UK mining project.
Darktrace (DARK.L) was up 2.5% on news that tech entrepreneur Michael Lynch had disclosed a 3.92% stake in the cyber-security company.
AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) shares gained 1.3% after a deal to buy Gracell Biotechnologies (GRCL.O) for up to $1.2 billion as the pharma company furthers its cell therapy ambitions and boosts its presence in China.
The broader pharma and biotech (.FTNMX201030) index advanced 0.9%.
Reporting by Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Shailesh Kuber
