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* UK layoffs hit record high, jobless rate rises to 4.8%
* Premier Foods tumbles after trading update
* Direct Line premiums dip, shares fall
* FTSE 100 up 1.8%, FTSE 250 adds 0.9%
(Adds comment; updates to close)
By Devik Jain
Nov 10 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 jumped on Tuesday as
prospect of an effective COVID-19 vaccine and optimism about a
Brexit trade deal with European Union electrified the mood,
while Premier Foods tumbled after its corporate trading update.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 1.8%, gaining
6.5% in two days, its best since March 26, with travel and
leisure, energy and aero
stocks among the biggest gainers.
After rising nearly 1.3% in afternoon trade, the
domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index ended 0.9%
higher, with Capita Plc jumping 26.9% after the
outsourcer eked out a small rise in adjusted third-quarter core
profit helped by cost-cutting.
UK markets had started November on a strong footing, also
aided by stimulus measures from the British government and the
Bank of England.
Data on Tuesday, however, showed layoffs in Britain hit a
record high during the third quarter, while surveys said
consumer spending faded in October even as new lockdowns spurred
stockpiling.
"Certainly the unemployment picture is relatively bleak.
However because of the vaccine, investors are feeling it's not
going to last as long and that even though we may still face
quite a bleak winter period, we can test whether or not it's
effective in the mass vaccination program," said Susannah
Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves
Lansdown.
Brexit news was also in focus with finance minister Rishi
Sunak saying significant progress have been made in a
post-Brexit trade deal talks.
Croda International Plc jumped 7% after the
specialty chemicals maker struck a additives supply deal with
Pfizer Inc for manufacturing its COVID-19 vaccine
candidate.
Premier Foods Plc shed 10% even after it lifted its
full-year trading profit outlook, while motor insurer Direct
Line Group Plc fell 2.2% on lower quarterly premiums
because of weak car sales due to the
pandemic.
Property firm Land Securities Group Plc rose 4%
after it resumed dividend payouts even as its first-half losses
soared to 835 million pounds.
(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V,
Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Jonathan Oatis)
