* FTSE 100 up 0.9%, FTSE 250 up 0.5%
* Sino-U.S. trade hopes rekindled
* Ryanair profit beat supports airlines
* Gambling stocks buckle on calls to overhaul online casinos
* Mothercare tanks as UK ops to be placed in administration
(Adds news items, analyst comment, updates to closing prices)
By Shashwat Awasthi
Nov 4 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 surged nearly 1% to a
more than one-month high on Monday as heavyweight banks, miners
and oil stocks were driven higher by hopes of a trade deal
between the United States and China.
The FTSE 100 added 0.9%, its best day in almost two
weeks, boosted by BP and Shell as well as
Asia-focussed HSBC and Prudential. Miners
jumped almost 3% to their highest since
mid-September.
The blue-chip index joined a global stocks rally triggered
by signals from Washington and Beijing that they had made
progress towards resolving a nearly 16-month-long trade war that
has roiled the global economy.
Updates on Sino-U.S. trade talks have been a major source of
volatility for the FTSE 100 this year. They helped the index hit
a more than nine-month high in July, but then drove its sharpest
monthly fall in 10 in August when tensions escalated.
"Of course, we've had plenty of warm words before that have
delivered very little but things seem to finally be moving,"
OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said.
The FTSE 250 advanced 0.5%, though gains were
limited by steep drops in gambling firms after a cross-party
group of UK lawmakers called for measures to overhaul online
casinos.
Shares of GVC, William Hill and 888 Holdings
shed between 10.5% and 13.7%, enduring their worst day
in months.
Among notable gainers were London-listed shares of Ryanair
, which jumped 8.2% for their best day since December
2014, after the Irish airline's first half profit beat analysts'
consensus forecast.
"A positive takeaway is that management confidence has
increased," Cityindex analyst Ken Odeluga said. "The shares
signal that investors believe delayed plane deliveries as well
as potential further strike disruption have been adequately
priced for the moment."
Mid-cap budget airlines easyJet and Wizz Air
rose 3.8% and 1.5%, respectively.
Baby products retailer Mothercare, which has shut a
third of its British stores in the past year and lost nearly
half its share value this year, sank another 26% after saying it
intended to appoint administrators for its UK operations.
Small-cap Woodford Patient Capital Trust, founded
by beleaguered money manager Neil Woodford, dropped nearly 8%
after the fund cut the valuation of one of its major holdings.
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by
Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Mark Potter)
