NatWest shock profits lift London’s FTSE 100

London markets were boosted by investors piling into NatWest after it announced it will hand back £2.1bn to investors.

The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index climbed 0.39 per cent to 7,374.25 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, added 1.32 per cent to hit 20,116.33 points.

Now privately owned NatWest said today it will send some of a surprise profit jump back investors, pushing its shares up nearly eight per cent and to the top of the FTSE 100.

Industrial giants supported the premier index, with miners Fresnillo and Anglo American climbing more than 3.2 per cent.

“In a mixed UK bank reporting season so far, there’s no question who is getting the gold star. NatWest has knocked it out of the park with its latest results. It’s hard to see what more it could have done to impress the market,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said.

City press favourite and FTSE 250-listed broker CMC Markets surged 5.27 per cent after nursing heavy losses this week off the back of a poor set of results.

GSK consumer-pharmaceutical spin out Haleon continued its slump after listing on the FTSE 100 last week, losing 2.5 per cent.

The pound lost ground on the greenback, weakening 0.1 per cent to buy $1.2156.