FTSE 100 up 0.5, FTSE 250 gains 0.2
Commodities boost FTSE 100 index
U.S. PCE in focus

July 26 Reuters London stocks rose on Friday, boosted by energy and industrial metal miners, tracking an uptick in commodity prices, while investors awaited U.S. inflation data, which could firm up bets for a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

The bluechip FTSE 100 index was up 0.5, while the midcap FTSE 250N gained 0.2 by 0708 GMT.

Personal goods shares rose 1.1 after French luxury goods company Hermes reported a 13 rise in secondquarter sales on Thursday.

Energy stocks gained 0.8 as oil prices rose slightly. Top energy firms BP and Shell rose more than 1 each.

Precious metal miners rebounded with a 0.5 gain on firmer gold prices after the sector logged its worst day since May 2022 on Thursday. Industrial metal miners traded 1 higher.

Datawise, investors are awaiting U.S. personal consumption expenditure PCE numbers for June later in the day, which could shed more light on the Fed39;s stance on interest rate cuts.

This follows Thursday39;s data that showed the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter, but inflation pressures subsided, keeping September rate cut bets intact.

In other updates, Man Group jumped 2.7 after the hedge fund posted a rise in assets under management to a record 178.2 billion in the six months to endJune, beating analysts39; expectations.

NatWest gained 8 to top the FTSE 100, after the bank39;s firsthalf pretax operating…