LONDON MARKETS: Miners Lift FTSE 100 For Second Straight Day

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index inched up on Wednesday, as shares in resource firms rose on the back of higher commodity prices.

The London benchmark traded 0.1% higher at 6,826.67, after closing at the highest level since July 7 on Tuesday.

Mining firms were among the top gainers, tracking most metal prices higher. Shares of precious-metal producers Randgold Resources Ltd. and Fresnillo PLC climbed 0.7% and 0.6% respectively, while sector major Glencore PLC (GLCNF) advanced 0.7%.

Oil prices also nudged up, giving a slight boost to the U.K.'s energy firms. Shares of BG Group PLC added 0.4%, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) picked up 0.2%.

The banking sector continued to rise on Wednesday, after being among biggest advancers on Tuesday. The gain follows dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, which spurred hopes that the ECB will launch full-on quantitative easing by the end of the year.

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) added 0.2% on Wednesday,and Barclays PLC (BCS) gained 0.2%. Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) were slightly lower after the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority fined the bank 14.47 million pounds ($24 million) for "serious" failings related to mortgage recommendations.

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