London Stocks Bounce Back Amid Corporate Gains and Awaited Federal Reserve Testimony

London stocks rebounded on Wednesday with the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices showing gains. Corporate updates boosted investor sentiment as all eyes turned to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony for signals on future U.S. monetary policy. Precious metal miners and travel stocks led gains while homebuilders lagged.

London stocks saw a resurgence on Wednesday, driven by broad-based gains and positive corporate updates, as investors anticipated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks to understand the U.S. central bank's future monetary policy direction.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose by 0.3%, recovering from its worst day in nearly a month on Tuesday, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index climbed by 0.2% as of 0722 GMT. Stocks in the travel and leisure sector grew by 0.9%, with SSP Group soaring 8.7% after reaffirming its fiscal year forecasts.

Precious metal miners advanced by 1.2% due to stabilizing gold prices ahead of a pivotal U.S. inflation report. Homebuilders were the biggest laggards, with Barratt Developments dropping 3% after predicting a 7% decline in its homebuilding targets for fiscal year 2025. Energy and industrial metal miners also saw declines, falling 0.2% and 0.4% respectively, in line with oil and copper prices.

Investor attention is now focused on the second day of Powell's Congressional testimony, following his comments on Tuesday that a rate cut is premature before the Federal Reserve gains more certainty on inflation control. Upcoming U.S. consumer price index figures and Britain's GDP numbers, both due on Thursday, add further anticipation. Notably, Bank of England's chief economist Huw Pill is also slated to speak at the UK's Asia House think tank later in the day.

Travis Perkins rose 2.6% after announcing Pete Redfern as its next CEO. IAG led the FTSE 100, increasing by 3.2%, following an upgrade by Morgan Stanley from 'Underweight' to 'Overweight'.

(With inputs from agencies.)