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* Sunak to set out budget as COVID-19 lockdown starts to lift
* Polymetal jumps on earnings boost
* Persimmon rises on upbeat outlook
* FTSE 100 up 1.3%, FTSE 250 adds 1.3% (Adds comment, updates prices)
By Shivani Kumaresan
March 3 (Reuters) - British shares rose on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in banking stocks, while investors awaited Finance Minister Rishi Sunak's budget plan as the country tries to recover from a coronavirus-inflicted economic shock.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 1.3%, with banking stocks, mainly HSBC Holdings Plc HSBA.L , Barclays Plc BARC.L and Standard Chartered Plc STAN.L gaining between 2% and 2.6%.
Mining stocks including Glencore Plc GLEN.L , Anglo American AAL.L and BHP BHPB.L were among the biggest boost to the index, followed by oil heavyweights BP BP.L and Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L .
"There is a clear case made for gradual rise in the corporate tax and in particular to balance fiscal burden in future," said Stefan Koopman, senior market economist at Rabobank.
"The government will seek to get more money in the pockets of people and businesses, and it is not a bad thing for equities, especially as many businesses rely on consumption from households."
Sunak is likely to promise to do "whatever it takes", including a five-month extension of Britain's huge jobs rescue plan, to steer the economy through what he hopes will be the final months of COVID-19 restrictions. budget announcement is expected at 1230 GMT
The FTSE 100 has recovered more than 35% from a coronavirus-led crash last year, helped by a raft of stimulus measures and faster vaccine rollouts. But investors are cautious about a rise in inflation and policy tightening, as lockdowns start to ease.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index .FTMC rose 1.3%, led by industrials stocks. The services activity data for February is expected at 0930 GMT.
Polymetal POLYP.L , one of Russia's largest gold and silver producers, rose 2.1% after posting a record high net earnings in 2020. firm PageGroup PAGE.L rose 1.8%, despite a 90% slump in annual profit, while Britain's second-largest homebuilder Persimmon PSN.L rose 4.1%, as it targeted a full return to pre-pandemic new home completion levels next year.