Feb 2 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 edged higher on Monday, as investors piled into defensive pharma and consumer staples stocks amid a global selloff in energy and metal shares. The blue-chip FTSE
FTSE 100 Hits Record High as Financials and Pharma Stocks Shine
Market Overview and Key Drivers
By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
Performance of Financials and Pharma
Feb 2 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Monday as investors piled into financials and defensive pharma stocks amid a global selloff in energy and metal shares.
Impact of Geopolitical Factors
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 1.1% at 10,341.56 points, rising for the third straight session, while the domestically focused mid-cap index FTSE 250 was up 0.7%, recovering some of the ground lost last week.
Bank of England's Upcoming Meeting
The index of precious metal miners fell 1.8%, closing at a two-week low, with Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo among the top losers in the benchmark index, down nearly 2.6% and 0.9% respectively.
The rout began after U.S. President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next U.S. Federal Reserve chair on Friday set off a wave of unwinding of leveraged bets.
Caution in markets pushed investors into defensive plays that typically outperform during economic downturns. Healthcare gained 2.6%, lifted by AstraZeneca's 3.2% rise.
Banks also reached their highest level since 2008, up 2%, with Barclays and NatWest group up around 2.7% each.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said the FTSE 100's record close reflected improving global risk sentiment, which outweighed the broader commodities selloff and supported a rebound in Wall Street and European equities.
Signs of geopolitical tensions easing between the U.S. and Iran also sparked a selloff in crude prices, sending energy stocks down 0.4%. Shell and BP fell 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
The focus this week will be on the Bank of England's policy meeting on Thursday where it is likely to hold rates at 3.75% and is expected to offer little clarity on when further cuts might come as it waits for firmer inflation trends.
The latest survey showed British businesses are most likely to be planning to raise pay this year by between 3% and 3.49%, slightly more than some BoE policymakers are comfortable with as they seek to return inflation to target.
(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; editing by Maju Samuel, Mark Heinrich and Jan Harvey)
