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* FTSE 100, FTSE 250 up 0.5%
* Easing trade sentiment lifts mood
* Pearson tanks after profit warning
* Imperial Brands falls after forecast cut, drags BAT
* IAG down after saying pilot strikes to hit profit
(Adds news items, analyst comments, updates share prices)
By Shashwat Awasthi
Sept 26 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 advanced on Thursday
after four straight sessions in the red, as a conciliatory
statement from China on its trade dispute with the United States
did enough to counteract a trio of profit warnings from
blue-chip components.
The FTSE 100 erased earlier losses and added 0.5%,
with gains shared among oil majors , financials
and miners, after China's commerce ministry said it was is in
close communication with Washington over next month's trade
talks.
Sentiment was also supported after President Donald Trump
said overnight that a trade deal with China could be struck
soon.
"Following yesterday's positive session in the U.S., there
seems to be a bit more optimism, but it's pretty fragile,"
Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said Trump's claim that a
deal with China could arrive sooner than people think was
outweighing any other "destabilising factors" surrounding his
presidency.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 rose after three consecutive
sessions of losses and was up 0.5% by 0755 GMT, with sterling
steady, though the Brexit malaise showed no signs of easing up.
China's positive comments helped the blue-chip index offset
a drop in tobacco stocks Imperial Brands and BAT
, which shed 10% and 3% respectively, after the blu
e-cigarette maker cut annual sales and profit view.
"Though the market will focus on poorer NGP performance, the
situation in the U.S. appears industry related rather than
company specific," Jefferies analysts said.
Education company Pearson slid almost 16% to its
lowest since March 2018 after saying full-year profit would be
at the bottom of its guided range.
British Airways owner IAG completed the trifecta of
profit warnings, as it dipped more than 3% after blaming pilot
strikes for an expected 215 million euros shortfall in annual
profit.
Thursday's profit warnings from the three blue-chip firms
wiped off more than roughly 5 billion pounds in market value
from the index after just half an hour of trading.
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby
Chopra)
