(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Melrose jumps as aerospace division recovery drives H1
profit
* Unilever falls as JP Morgan cuts to underweight
* CMC Markets tumbles on annual earnings forecast cut
* FTSE 100 adds 0.2%, FTSE 250 off 0.1%
(Updates to close)
By Devik Jain
Sept 2 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 rose on Thursday on an
upbeat earnings report from Melrose Industries and as higher oil
prices lifted energy stocks, although ex-dividend trading and
losses in heavyweight Unilever capped gains.
The blue-chip index closed up 0.2%, with engineering
firm Melrose surging 7.2% to a more-than-four-month
high after swinging to a first-half profit, helped by a recovery
in its aerospace division.
On the other hand, global miner BHP Group slid 5.6%
to the bottom of index, while motor insurer Admiral Group
slipped 1.9% as they traded ex-dividend.
The FTSE 100 has risen more than 10% so far this year,
boosted by strong corporate earnings and hopes of a strong
vaccine-led economic recovery, but a global resurgence in
coronavirus cases and fears of a tapering in global monetary
policy have rekindled concerns about the pace of growth.
Focus on Friday will be on the U.S. monthly jobs report,
which could set the stage for the Federal Reserve's policy
meeting later this month.
"The market is waiting for this non-farm payrolls (data)
that has potentially big market moving implications for the
Federal Reserve," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at
Markets.com.
"With the Fed looking at the employment market more and more
as its guide rather than inflation ... you're getting to the
point now where, because of the potential imminent taper, each
jobs report becomes more and more important."
The domestically focussed mid-cap index was down
0.1%, after notching a record closing high on Wednesday.
Unilever Plc fell 2.1% as JP Morgan downgraded the
Dove soap maker's stock to "underweight" from "neutral".
CMC Markets sank 27.4% to the bottom of the index
after the online trading platform slashed its annual earnings
outlook.
EnQuest fell 6.1% after the North Sea-focused oil
producer forecast annual production at the lower end of its
earlier outlook range.
(Reporting by Devik Jain and Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru;
Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Rashmi Aich and Steve Orlofsky)