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* FTSE 100 up 0.6%, FTSE 250 adds 0.2%
* Britain extends lockdown for at least three weeks
* Retail spending slumps in first two weeks of lockdown
measures
* EasyJet reverses early gains amid founder row
(Updates with market closing)
By Devik Jain and Sruthi Shankar
April 16 (Reuters) - Britain's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 rose
on Thursday, boosted by a weaker pound as Britons braced for a
longer lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus
pandemic.
In a widely expected move, UK's foreign minister Dominic
Raab said the country will extend its lockdown for at least
three more weeks as a relaxation of the measures would damage
both public health and the economy.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.6% in a volatile session, with drug
companies GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca
surging 5.3% and 2.7%, respectively, and other big dollar
earners rising as sterling dropped.
The midcap index rose 0.2% after a 6.5% drop in the
past two sessions.
UK equities have lagged a broader European rally as
countries including Germany, Austria and Spain looked to restart
their economies amid signs the pandemic was plateauing. The
broader pan-European STOXX 600 has gained in six of the
past seven sessions.
"We expect markets to remain volatile as the real economic
impact of the ongoing crisis begins to come through in company
earnings updates," noted Ingrid Kukuljan, head of impact
investing, international at Federated Hermes.
"We are wary that current market expectations for earnings
revisions and capex reductions could be too optimistic."
Latest data showed British retail spending slumped 27% in
the first two weeks of the lockdown and one in four firms
stopped trading temporarily, supporting dire predictions of an
economic downturn this year.
Shares in EasyJet, which had earlier surged on news
that it could survive a nine-month shutdown, closed down 2.5% as
its founder and biggest shareholder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou,
escalated his row with management.
Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell dropped
more than 3% as crude prices struggled after the OPEC lowered
its global oil demand forecast.
Lending support to markets, however, UK's biggest
housebuilder Barratt Development said it sold more
homes so far this year and its finances remain strong.
Its shares jumped 6.3%, while peers Persimmon,
Berkeley Group and Taylor Wimpey added more than
3%.
Pest control company Rentokil Initial rose 4.4%
after saying it was pushing ahead with staff layoffs and a 35%
cut in board members' pay as it braces for a bigger hit to
operations in the second quarter.
Cybersecurity firm Avast jumped 9.9% after it stuck
to its 2020 revenue outlook.
Meanwhile, oilfield services provider Petrofac
plunged 14.7% as Abu Dhabi National Oil Company terminated
$1.65-billion worth of contracts it had awarded to its Emirati
unit.
(Reporting by Devik Jain and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru;
Editing by Arun Koyyur, William Maclean)
