* FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 up 0.3%
* China stimulus buoys sentiment
* U.S. jobs data reinforces Fed rate cut bets
* Homebuilder Berkeley up after trading update
(Adds news items, analyst comments, updates to closing prices)
By Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi
Sept 6 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Friday as a new
stimulus plan from China helped support sentiment after U.S.
jobs data disappointed and housebuilder Berkeley gained after
pointing to robust conditions in key British markets despite
Brexit uncertainties.
The main index edged 0.2% higher, tracking global
stock markets that welcomed China's move to slash the amount of
cash that banks must hold as reserves, which will provide more
liquidity to support its economy.
The mid-caps advanced 0.3%, helped by a 6.5% jump in
G4S, the world's largest private security firm, after
Sky News reported U.S. security company Brinks was
mulling a takeover of G4S' cash solutions unit.
China's stimulus plan helped boost blue-chip mining stocks
such as Glencore and BHP. Packaging firm
Smurfit Kappa rose 3.4% to the top of the FTSE 100 as
its latest bond offering incited demand from yield-starved
investors.
"(Smurfit's) bond offering, at relatively advantageous rates
as fixed-income yields trend lower, will provide it with much
cheaper financing," Cityindex analyst Ken Odeluga said.
Homebuilder Berkeley rose 2.8% after pointing to
robust market conditions in London and southeast England.
The much-anticipated and traditionally influential U.S.
non-farm payrolls numbers showed slower-than-expected growth in
August, pointing to an economy slowing against the backdrop of
President Donald Trump's trade war with China.
"The employment report pretty much cements only a
25-basis-point rate cut for the U.S. Federal Reserve at the
Sept. 18 meeting," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at
Oanda.
The main index's gains were kept in check by oil
heavyweights BP and Shell, which tracked a fall
in crude prices, and utilities that slipped on the prospect of
renationalisation if a Labour government took power in Britain.
Shares of SSE, Centrica and Severn Trent
shed roughly 2%. A snap election remains a possibility
as lawmakers prepare for a showdown over delaying Brexit.
"While no-deal Brexit risks have been abated, the
nationalisation risks remain firmly in place," Moya said.
United Utilities lost 2.9% as a rating and price
target downgrade from RBC also weighed on the stock.
(Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi, additional
reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard
Orr and Dale Hudson)
