FTSE 100 Modestly Higher As Miners Move Up

(RTTNews) - U.K. stock market's benchmark index FTSE 100 moved higher on Friday, mirroring the trend in most of the markets across Europe, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole later in the day for clues about the outlook for U.S. central bank's interest rates.

The FTSE 100, which advanced to 10,849.10 earlier in the day, was up 22.77 points or 0.21% at 10,815.31 about a quarter past noon.

SSE climbed more than 2%. Investec, Croda International, Melrose Industries, Weir, HSBC Holdings, Severn Trent, Aviva, Standard Life and Spirax Group gained 1%-1.8%.

Miners Anglo American Plc, Antofagasta and Endeavour Mining gained 1.1%-1.4%.

Shell, Centrica, National Grid, United Utilities, Hiscox, Metlen Energy & Metals and Scottish Mortgage posted modest gains.

Airtel Africa drifted lower by about 2.2%. The Sage Group, BAE Systems, Experian, Kingfisher, Relx, Autotrader Group, Babcock International, Admrial Group, JD Sports Fashion, Smith & Nephew, Tritax Big Box REIT and Howden Joinery Group shed 1%-2%.