* FTSE 100 up 0.9%, FTSE 250 up 0.3%
* Exporters gain as pound drops
* Persimmon up on Jefferies upgrade
(Adds company news items, updates share prices)
By Muvija M and Indranil Sarkar
Sept 27 (Reuters) - London's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 jumped
to its highest in nearly two months on Friday as sterling
slipped after the Bank of England gave its clearest signal yet
that it could cut rates and on growing hopes of a resolution to
the U.S.-China trade war.
The blue-chip bourse rose 0.9% at 0801 GMT to levels
not seen since Aug. 2, with gains across all sectors, and was
set to end the week on a surprisingly positive note despite
growing political tensions.
A lack of any major chipmaker presence shielded the index
from a profit warning from Nasdaq-listed Micron Technology
, helping it outperform European's main index.
The more domestically-focused midcap index, which
earns roughly half of its profits in the local currency, added
only 0.3% as pound dropped to multi-week lows.
Even as the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline approaches, very little
is clear about how or even whether the UK will leave the
European Union. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in a standoff
with parliament after vowing to take the country out of the bloc
with or without a deal.
Those uncertainties pushed BoE policymaker Michael Saunders
to hint at a likely interest rate cut scenario, just a week
after the bank kept rate cuts off the chart.
The BoE seemed to be playing catch-up, after the U.S.
Federal Reserve cut interest rates twice this year and the
European Central Bank eased monetary policies to support the
slowing euro zone economy.
Hopes that a long drawn-out Sino-U.S. trade war might be
nearing a solution also helped sentiment after China said on
Thursday it was in close communication with the United States
over trade talks next month.
Oil majors BP and Shell and financials
including Asia-exposed stocks contributed to more than half the
FTSE 100's gains by 0821 GMT.
The index is nevertheless heading for its first quarterly
loss this year due to a slew of negative headlines around
escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, recession fears and a rise
in no-deal Brexit worries under Johnson's premiership.
Among stock moves, Britain's second-largest homebuilder
Persimmon added 2.2% after brokerage Jefferies said
Brexit risks were overplayed in the sector and upgraded the
stock.
Offshore oilfield services contractor Gulf Marine
surged 20% after it signed a deal with lenders to provide cash
till year-end, while mid-cap utility Pennon Group scaled
a one-year high after it maintained targets.
(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar and Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi
in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Catherine Evans)
