Avast hits record high
Hiscox falls after results
BoE to raise interest rates by 50 bps on Thursday
FTSE 100 rises 0.5, FTSE 250 up 0.7

Aug 3 Reuters Britain39;s main stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday as Avast surged after it won regulatory approval for NortonLifeLock39;s 8.6 billion deal, while banks rose a day before an expected interest rate hike from the Bank of England.

Shares of Avast Plc soared 43.8 to an alltime high after Britain39;s competition regulator said it has provisionally cleared cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock39;s 8.6 billion purchase of its rival.

The bluechip FTSE 100 index was 0.5 higher, while the domestically focussed midcap index gained 0.7. Both the indexes clocked strong gains in July, with the FTSE 100 outperforming its global peers so far this year.

The UK market is a defensive market, so it will tend to outperform in a year like 2022 when there are a lot of uncertainties, said Thomas Moore, senior investment director at abrdn.

People will still pay for their energy, heating bills; they will buy cigarettes, a bottle of whiskey. Inflation and interest rates could be a problem for the UK economy, but it is unlikely to be a problem for UK stock market.

All eyes are on the Bank of England39;s meeting on Thursday where policymakers are expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points after other central banks pushed up borrowing costs sharply in recent weeks, despite the risk of an economic slowdown or a recession.

UK banks…