LONDON: British shares rose on Monday, led by gains in mining stocks as silver prices jumped on strong retail demand, while fashion retailer ASOS gained on a deal to buy rival brands and JD Sports surged following its second acquisition in the United States.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index gained 0.8%, recovering from its worst session in three months, with miners and construction stocks gaining the most. The mid-cap index added 0.6%.

Silver prices surged to an eight-year high, silver-mining stocks leapt and bullion dealers were scrambling as small-time investors piled in to the metal, the latest target of a retail-trading frenzy that has set financial markets on edge.

“Silver has knock-on effects compared to GameStop because it has links to miners, and then the miners themselves have an impact on how the FTSE 100 performs,” said Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx.

Miners BHP Group, Glencore and Anglo American were the top boosts to the index.

The FTSE 100 has recovered nearly 30% from its March 2020 lows and is 15% away from its highest point last year, led by stimulus support and re-opening optimism, but a recent surge in coronavirus infections and fresh lockdowns capped further gains.

Shares of ASOS gained 3.9% after buying Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands from the administrators of Philip Green’s collapsed Arcadia group for 265 million pounds ($364 million).

Britain’s biggest sportswear retailer JD Sports jumped 6.3% on a takeover deal to buy DTLR Villa, its second acquisition in the United States, as the retailer expands its business in the West Coast.

Hargreaves Lansdown dropped 1.7% even after the company raised its dividend and posted a 10% jump in profit for the first half of its fiscal year.—Reuters