FTSE 100 climbs on energy, mining stock boost; BoE meeting eyed

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* FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.4%

Sept 23 (Reuters) – London’s FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, led by energy and mining stocks, as investors awaited the Bank of England’s meeting later in the day for inflation outlook and taper timelines following a tilt by the U.S. central bank towards a November easing of its asset purchases.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.3% with Glencore , Rio Tinto, BP and Royal Dutch Shell among the top boosts.

Royal Mail Plc climbed 2.1% to be the top FTSE 100 gainer after it forecast a surge in first-half operating profit.

The domestically focussed mid-cap index rose 0.4%.

Britain’s central bank looks set to keep interest rates steady later in the day with its policy decision due at 1100 GMT as it approaches the end-point of its 895 billion pound ($1.22 trillion) asset purchase programme on the backdrop of rising inflation.

London-listed shares of South Africa-based financial services group Investec gained 2.2% after it said it expected an up to 114% rise in half-year profits.

Britain’s Mitchells & Butlers Plc rose 1.4% after it said sales over the past two months had been above pre-pandemic levels. (Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)