Hopes of easing Chinese COVID curbs push FTSE 100 higher

(Reuters) - The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday with energy and mining stocks leading the rally and mirroring global gains as the possibility of less stringent COVID curbs in China helped lift investor sentiment.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.5%, tracking Asian and European peers, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 midcap index slipped 0.1%.

Heavyweight energy stocks rose 1.5% as oil prices climbed on hopes of easing in China's COVID controls after Beijing held a news conference on COVID prevention and control measures at 0700 GMT. [O/R]

Base metal miners climbed 1.8% as prices rebounded on support for property sector in top metals consumer China brightened demand outlook.

Among single stocks, easyJet fell 3.4% after the airline reported a full-year loss.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)