FTSE 100 touches five-month closing high on optimism over rate cuts
FTSE 100 up 0.7%, FTSE 250 climbs 0.6%
ECB cuts rate as expected
Rentokil climbs on N.America overhaul plans
Updated at 1650 GMT
By Pranav Kashyap and Sruthi Shankar
Oct 17 (Reuters) -The UK's FTSE 100 closed at a near five-month high on Thursday, as pest control group Rentokil announced an overhaul of its struggling North America business, while investors continued to bet on further policy easing by the Bank of England (BoE).
The blue-chip index .FTSE rose 0.7% to close at its strongest level since late May, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 index .FTMC climbed 0.6% to close at a more than two-week high.
Rentokil Initial RTO.L jumped 8.8% after it said its North America finance chief has left the group and it appointed a new chief marketing officer and chief operating officer. That helped offset disappointment around a profit warning.
London-listed precious metal miners such as Hochschild Mining HOCM.L and Centamin CEY.L rose 9.4% and 4.6%, respectively, as gold prices touched a record high on expectations of more rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. GOL/
The European Central Bank cut rates for the third time this year earlier on Thursday, saying the outlook for the wider euro zone economy was worsening.
Meanwhile, data on Wednesday that showed British inflation dropped to the lowest since April 2021 prompted traders to price in a stronger chance of a UK rate cut in November.
The spotlight is also shifting from macro factors to the earnings season.
"What is missing at the moment for British equities to start performing better and start an uptrend, is really earnings to start delivering better. That has been the missing link," said Lilian Chovin, head of asset allocation at the British private bank Coutts.
While U.S. and euro zone stock markets are trading near record highs, British stock markets have lagged somewhat, with the midcap index far from its peak hit in 2021.
Mondi MNDI.L lost 7.5% after the packaging company reported a lower core profit compared with the previous three-month period.
Smiths Group SMIN.L lost 1.8%, Persimmon PSN.L fell 1.8% while Howden Joinery HWDN.L dropped 0.5% as they traded without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out.
Entain ENT.L climbed 2.8% after the gambling group said it expects annual core profit to be towards the top end of its earlier forecast.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K, Alexandra Hudson
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