FTSE 100 gains as China pledges aid sentiment, EasyJet climbs

Endeavour Mining rallied 6.8% after Liberum upgraded its stock to "buy" from "sell."

The UK's blue-chip index rose on Wednesday, lifted by China-exposed stocks following measures by the central bank to support the economy, while shares in Easyjet jumped after the airline forecast a smaller loss.

Miners, including Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore climbed between 2.1% and 4.0% after China's central bank governor said it will cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves from Feb. 5, bolstering efforts to shore up a fragile economic recovery. Asia-exposed financial firms Standard Chartered and Prudential rose nearly 2% each, while luxury firm Burberry added 1.5%.

The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.5% by 0814 GMT, while domestically oriented FTSE 250 index added 0.4%. Broader European markets also got a boost from upbeat earnings reports after New York's S&P 500 closed at a record high for the third consecutive session on Tuesday.

EasyJet advanced 5.4% after the airline operator said it expected smaller losses in the first half of the year, despite a direct hit of about 40 million pounds ($50.80 million) from the conflict in the Middle East. Endeavour Mining rallied 6.8% after Liberum upgraded its stock to "buy" from "sell."