FTSE 100 Outperforms European Peers

(RTTNews) - The FTSE 100 benchmark of the London Stock Exchange is trading with strong gains on Wednesday, diverging from the negative trend in broader European markets. Easing political tensions in the U.K. supported sentiment.

The FTSE 100 which had closed at 10,353.84 on Tuesday traded between 10,437.52 and 10,353.80 on Wednesday.

Amidst strong gains in commodity names, the index is currently trading at 10,431.12, having added 0.75 percent from the previous close.

In the 100-scrip index, 59 scrips are trading in the overnight green zone.

Antofagasta topped gains with a surge of 5.7 percent. AstraZeneca rallied 3.3 percent. Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining, Coca-Cola HBC, Rio Tinto, all followed with gains of more than 2.5 percent.

St James's place plunged 12.6 percent. Barratt Redrow lost 5.4 percent followed by Relx that shed close to 4 percent.

Amidst anxiety ahead of payroll data from the U.S and the dollar's weakness, the six-currency Dollar Index has edged down 0.06 percent to 96.74 from the level of 96.80 at the previous close. The GBP/USD pair has rallied 0.19 percent to 1.3681. The sterling ranged between $1.3712 and $1.3632 in the day's trade. The EUR/GBP pair slipped 0.20 percent to 0.8700. The GBP/JPY pair has also slipped 0.23 percent to 210.15 amidst the yen's renewed strength.

With yields mostly trading on a weak note, bonds in the U.K. also witnessed a drop in yields. Ten-year bond yields in the U.K. shed 0.38 percent to 4.4950 percent. The yields ranged between 4.5160 percent and 4.4880 percent over the course of the day. Yields had closed at 4.5120 percent a day earlier.