The UK shares opened higher on Wednesday, led by a rise in mining firms, while investors latched on to the year-end optimism driven by expectations that major central banks could begin cutting interest rates in the upcoming year.

By 8:14 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.3% and the FTSE 250 mid-cap index rose 0.1%.

Precious metal miners gained 1%, mainly supported by expectations of interest rate cuts in the US next year.

Industrial metal miners led sectoral gains, adding 1.1% as prices of most base metals rose after improved data from top consumer China, and a weaker US dollar.

FTSE 100 touches near 7-month high

Anglo American shares climbed 2.8% to the top of the FTSE 100 index on a report that the miner was looking to sell shares in a $9 billion UK mining project.

Darktrace was up 2% on news that Michael Lynch had disclosed a 3.92% stake in the cyber-security company.