• FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 up 0.3%
• UK budget announcement at 12:30 GMT
• Financials and materials lead gains

Nov 26 (Reuters) - UK stocks advanced on Wednesday, led by gains in financials and mining stocks, while investors braced for a potentially tax-heavy budget.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) , opens new tab rose 0.2% by 10:55 GMT, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 (.FTMC) , opens new tab added 0.3%.

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Precious metal miners (.FTNMX551030) , opens new tab climbed 3.8% to lead the sectoral gains as gold prices hit to a near two-week high after benign U.S. economic data reinforced expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month.

Fresnillo (FRES.L) , opens new tab rose 3.9%, Endeavour Mining (EDV.L) , opens new tab added 3.6%, while Hochschild (HOCM.L) , opens new tab gained 4.4%.

Industrial miners (.FTNMX551020) , opens new tab added about 1% as copper prices also advanced. Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab and Antofagasta (ANTO.L) , opens new tab rose 1.4% and 1.8%, respectively.

Banks (.FTNMX301010) , opens new tab advanced 0.5%, extending gains from previous session after media reports of relief from tax hike in budget. Standard Chartered (STAN.L) , opens new tab gained 1.6%, while Barclays (BARC.L) , opens new tab rose 0.8%.

Investors now await the autumn budget, where Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is expected to outline tens of billions of pounds in tax increases.

“Any sizable spending hikes, potentially to welfare, combined with increases to borrowing, would be a big red flag to markets, and sterling and gilts would probably sell-off hard,” said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury in a note.

On Tuesday, UK government approved 4.1% rise in minimum wage for 2026, despite complaints from some employers that this will push up prices.

Meanwhile, a survey showed the British public's expectations for inflation over the next 12 months fell, with U.S. bank Citi saying the reading could boost the chances of a December rate cut by the Bank of England.

Also in focus was a Russia-Ukraine peace deal after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signalled readiness to push forward a U.S.-backed framework to end the war. However, some uncertainty remained as Trump retracted the deadline for the deal.

Aerospace and defence (.FTNMX502010) , opens new tab gained 0.7%, with BAE Systems (BAES.L) , opens new tab up 1%.

On the flip side, Beverages (.FTNMX451010) , opens new tab dropped the most, falling 0.9%, with spirits maker Diageo (DGE.L) , opens new tab losing 1.4%.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/uk-shares-edge-higher-miners-banks-gain-ahead-budget-2025-11-26/