The FTSE 100 rose 0.4% on Thursday, extending Wednesday’s 0.1% gain. Gold’s advance lifted precious-metal miners, with Fresnillo up nearly 4% and Endeavour almost 3%. Large caps including HSBC, AstraZeneca, Unilever and GSK gained 0.4–0.7%, while Rio Tinto and Barclays added more than 1%. Offsetting some strength, Informa slid 3%, BAE Systems dropped 1.3% and Rolls-Royce fell 0.6%. Concerns about AI spending and stretched tech valuations following Oracle’s update eased in Europe, allowing UK equities to grind higher. Traders boosted bets on BoE rate cuts in 2025, with Friday’s GDP print potentially shaping those expectations.