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* China exports rise for the first time in 2020
* Lenders gain after upbeat BoE stress test
* Rolls Royce slides on reports of job cuts
* Insurer RSA jumps on flagging small coronavirus hit
* FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.8%
(Adds comments; updates prices)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani
May 7 (Reuters) - UK stock markets inched higher on
Thursday, with investors looking past dismal quarterly earnings
reports and hoping for a faster recovery from a deep
coronavirus-led recession following a surprise rise in China's
exports.
The export-laden FTSE 100 climbed 0.3% and the
mid-cap FTSE 250 added 0.8%, as China's exports rose in
April for the first time this year with factories racing to make
up for lost sales due to the coronavirus shock.
Miners, tracking a jump in commodity prices,
were the top boost to the FTSE 100, while financials
gained as a "desk top" stress test by the Bank of
England showed top lenders can withstand the economic fallout of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
"All traders know that the pandemic and the lockdown have
basically frozen the economy, but (sentiment will pick up) as
long as they see some sign that things are improving," said
David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets in London.
"Europe and the United States are slightly easing their
lockdowns and the hope is that in two months time, we might be
in a position where China is."
Historic global stimulus and signs of a plateau in the
outbreak powered the FTSE 100 in April, but the index has
struggled to build on those gains this month as economic data
foreshadows the biggest UK economic slump in 300 years.
Latest surveys showed Britain's job market came to a dead
stop in April, while another report said activity in the
country's housing market had stalled during a nationwide
lockdown.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has so far resisted easing
the lockdown as the UK overtook Italy as the country with the
highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe, is due to set out details
of a plan to reopen the economy on Sunday.
"The lifting of restrictions could take a while longer,"
said Edward Moya senior market analyst at OANDA.
"Johnson wants the economy to stabilize and lifting the
lockdown will get the ball rolling, (but) the problem for him is
that the UK is the hardest hit country in Europe and they are
still not near their peak."
In further signs of the business hit from the health crisis,
aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce fell 4.3% after reports
that it was considering cutting up to 8,000 jobs to weather the
global aerospace sector slump.
Britain's biggest telecoms group BT tumbled 8.6% to
the bottom of the FTSE 100 as it suspended its dividend until
2021-22 and pulled its financial outlook.
In a bright spot, insurer RSA jumped 5% after it
estimated its exposure to the outbreak at just 25 million pounds
($31 million) and said most of its business interruption
policies did not offer cover.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of England held off from
launching further stimulus measures, as expected, but said it
was ready to take action to counter the coronavirus hit to the
economy.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by
Anil D'Silva, Bernard Orr)
