LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Bounces Back From 1-week Low As North Korea Fears Ease

Gold miners fall back after Tuesday's geopolitics-fueled rally

U.K. stocks broke a two-session losing run on Wednesday, with investors' appetite returning as concerns over a military confrontation between the U.S. and North Korea abated for now.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.4% to close at 7,365.26, partly erasing a 0.9% loss from Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-knocked-sharply-lower-after-north-korea-launches-missile-over-japan-2017-08-29), when the benchmark ended at its lowest level since Aug. 21. That slide came after North Korea launched a ballistic missile (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-koreas-outrageous-missile-launch-over-japan-inflames-tensions-again-2017-08-29) over Japan, which was seen as another direct provocation from Pyongyang meant to destabilize the Asian region.

Financial markets, however, staged a rebound late Tuesday and Wednesday after what were seen as measured and balanced responses to the missile test from U.S. President Donald Trump and the rest of the global community, according to analysts.

"Investors were relieved to see that the U.S. president reacted in a tempered manner, opting not to escalate the issue by taking immediate action against the North Korea regime," said Konstantinos Anthis, researcher at ADS Securities, on Wednesday.

"The move away from the risk-off trade pushed the safe haven instruments down, with the yen and gold both giving up significant ground," he said in a note.

Read:Dow industrials just booked the best intraday comeback in 9 months (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-just-booked-its-best-intraday-comeback-in-9-months-2017-08-29)

And see:How North Korea and Harvey rattled markets, in 4 charts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-north-koreas-latest-offensive-harvey-carnage-and-low-volumes-rattle-stock-market-2017-08-29)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-north-koreas-latest-offensive-harvey-carnage-and-low-volumes-rattle-stock-market-2017-08-29)Ashtead Group PLC (AHT.LN) and G4S PLC (GFS.LN) posted the biggest gains in the FTSE, up 4.8% and 2.7%, respectively.

Economic news: U.K. mortgage approvals rose to a 16-month high in July, coming in at 68,689 compared with 65,318 in June. Economists had expected a figure around 65,000.

Growth in consumer credit, however, slipped to 9.8% from 10% in June, marking the weakest increase since April 2016.

The pound bought $1.2929 compared with $1.2919 late Tuesday in New York.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 30, 2017 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)