• FTSE 100 up 0.7%, FTSE 250 up 0.2%
• Lloyds Banking Group rises on lower motor finance scandal bill
• Gold miners jump after metal price hits record
• Unite Group plunges after softer Q3 rental growth

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in heavyweight financial stocks, while gold miners rallied as bullion prices surged to historic levels.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) , opens new tab gained 0.7% to 9,548.87, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) , opens new tab closed up 0.2%.

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An index of bank stocks (.FTNMX301010) , opens new tab rose 1.9%. Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) , opens new tab gained 3.7% after London's financial services regulator proposed a lower-than-feared redress package over motor finance mis-selling.

The sentiment propped up other lenders, with Barclays (BARC.L) , opens new tab adding 1.1%. HSBC (HSBA.L) , opens new tab also rose 1.5% after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock. Merchant bank Close Brothers (CBRO.L) , opens new tab surged 5.4%.

Precious metal miners (.FTNMX551030) , opens new tab outperformed peers after gold prices soared past $4,000 per ounce for the first time.

Endeavour Mining (EDV.L) , opens new tab and Fresnillo (FRES.L) , opens new tab rose 2.7% and 3%, respectively, placing the miners among the FTSE 100's top performers.

Industrial metal miners (.FTNMX551020) , opens new tab added 1.7%, tracking gains in copper prices.

Real estate stocks (.FTUB3510) , opens new tab, meanwhile, were the biggest drag among sectors falling 1.9%.

Unite Group (UTG.L) , opens new tab dropped 10.8% to a more than five-year low, the biggest loser on the FTSE 250, after the student accommodation developer reported rental growth of 4% at the end of the third quarter, compared with a 8.2% growth a year ago.

Investors also watched trade developments as Prime Minister Keir Starmer began a two-day visit to India and said he wanted the trade deal with India, inked in July, implemented as soon as "humanly possible".

The FTSE 100 rallied to record highs last week, posting new peaks in four out of five sessions, helped by resurgent healthcare stocks, which had lagged in the first half of the year.

On Wednesday, they (.FTNMX201030) , opens new tab gained 0.6%, while AstraZeneca (AZN.L) , opens new tab gave up its earlier gains to end the session nearly flat.

Among other stocks, Vertu Motors (VTU.L) , opens new tab fell 2% after warning of an annual profit hit from a cyberattack at Jaguar Land Rover, whose dealerships the motor retailer operates.

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/londons-ftse-100-hits-fresh-high-banks-gain-gold-tops-4000-2025-10-08/