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* FTSE 100 up 0.8%, FTSE 250 adds 0.6%
* Barclays among worst FTSE performers
* STOXX at record all-time high, FTSE lags peers
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar
Nov 1 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index marked its highest
close in 20 months on Monday, aided by gains in most bank stocks
and a weaker pound, while shares of British bank Barclays
slipped after its chief executive officer stepped down.
Barclays fell 1.1% after it announced the departure
of CEO Jes Staley following a dispute with British financial
regulators over how he described his ties with convicted sex
offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.8% to record its highest
close since February 2020, with banks Standard Chartered
and Lloyds Banking Group among the top boosts.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index advanced
0.6%.
Britain's FTSE 100 has this year lagged the pan-European
STOXX 600 index, which hit a record high on Monday, as
supply chain problems, a fuel crisis and interest rate hike
worries weighed on domestic markets.
Investor focus is on the Bank of England (BoE) meeting on
Thursday with swaps pricing pointing to a better-than-even
chance of the central bank raising interest rates for the first
time since the pandemic.
"A few small rises will be absorbed by most firms, and
higher rates are even good news for some sectors, like banks.
But the BoE needs to be careful, raise too much too quickly and
they will cause both an economic and market downturn as
consumers and corporates struggle to service debt," said Emma
Wall, head of investment analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.
British business sentiment fell slightly in October after
touching its highest since the start of the pandemic, according
to a survey by Lloyds Bank.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S in Bengaluru
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Mark Potter)
