Burberry boosts UK mid-cap stocks, focus on speeches from Reeves and Bailey

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) -UK stocks rose on Thursday, with luxury firm Burberry leading gains in the mid-cap index after unveiling a turnaround plan, while investors awaited speeches from finance minister Rachel Reeves and Bank of England chief Andrew Bailey.

Burberry rallied almost 19%, logging its biggest single-day percentage gain, after it announced a turnaround plan to win back customers by focussing on trench coats and scarves and be less ambitious with prices on bags and shoes.

The stock was the top gainer on the FTSE 250 index, which climbed 0.8%.

Burberry was in need of a reset after a very difficult time for the business and the market seems to like the strategy update delivered today by new CEO Joshua Schulman,” AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould said.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index climbed 0.5% as investors looked ahead to Reeves’ first Mansion House speech to leaders of the City where she is expected to outline the role the left-leaning Labour government wants them to play to help increase national prosperity.

Meanwhile, the BoE’s Bailey is expected to speak at an event later in the day. The central bank should keep interest rates on hold until upside risks to inflation – including those posed by the election of Donald Trump as the United States’ next president – dissipate, top BoE official Catherine Mann said.

The FTSE 350 precious metals & mining index dropped 1.9% to a two-month low, tracking a fall in gold prices on the back of renewed strength in the dollar. [GOL/]

Aviva climbed 4.6% after the insurer posted a 15% rise in general insurance gross written premiums for the first nine months of the year and said it was confident of meeting its group targets.

United Utilities rose 3.4% after the company which supplies water to northwest England said it expects full-year revenue to increase by about 10%.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Jonathan Oatis)