FTSE 100 rises on mining, oil boost; Tesco drops in ex-dividend trading

London’s FTSE 100 rose to a two-month high on Thursday, boosted by heavyweight oil and mining stocks, while retailer Tesco (LON:TSCO) was the top drag as its shares traded ex-dividend.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index climbed 0.7% to 7,187.6 by 0710 GMT, with miners Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) among the top performers.

Oil majors BP (LON:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) gained 1.3% and 1.4% respectively, while miners advanced 2.4% on upbeat commodity prices. [O/R] [MET/L]

Markets await appearances from Bank of England policymakers on Thursday and expect the central bank to start raising its interest rate from a record-low 0.1% before the end of the year. [BOEWATCH]

The domestically focussed mid-cap index advanced 0.6%, with recruiter Hays Plc (LON:HAYS) among the top gainers. The stock was up 3.5% after the company reported a jump in its quarterly net fees.

Dunelm Group plc gained 3.8% after it reported a strong rise in sales despite an uncertain outlook for the coming year.

Ashmore Group dropped 2% after its assets under management fell by $3.1 billion during the third quarter of 2021 on emerging market woes and institutional outflows.