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* FTSE 100 up 0.1%, FTSE 250 up 0.9%
* Brexit Party stands down in more seats
* Signs of Sino-U.S. trade deal stoke risk appetite
* BT falls on Labour nationalisation pledge
* Carpetright jumps on buyout deal
(Adds news items, updates to closing prices)
By Shashwat Awasthi
Nov 15 (Reuters) - London's mid-cap index outperformed its
European counterparts on Friday after the Brexit Party lent
further clarity ahead of the Dec. 12 election, while hopes that
a U.S.-China may be imminent helped the FTSE 100 eke out gains.
The FTSE 250 advanced 0.9% as domestically-focused
stocks rose after Nigel Farage's party stood down from more
seats not held by the Conservative Party, which could help
Tories gain a majority in the upcoming election.
As a result, the index bagged its third straight week of
gains.
A Conservative victory is being considered most likely to
push Brexit through. Blue-chip homebuilders Persimmon
and Taylor Wimpey, traditionally more exposed to Brexit
developments, also rose.
The main index inched 0.1% higher, boosted by miners
, as well as oil majors BP and Shell
, after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said
Washington was getting close to a trade pact with Beijing.
That outweighed a dip in exporter stocks as sterling rose to
a 10-day high after political developments at home.
Shares of telecom companies were a major blip on the index
after Britain's opposition Labour party vowed to nationalise
parts of the telecoms provider BT if it won power in the Dec. 12
election.
BT slipped 1%, while peers Vodafone and
TalkTalk gave up roughly 3% each, after Labour's latest
salvo less than a month out from the election, in which Credit
Suisse believes Tories currently have the edge.
"Our base case is a Conservative majority, though lower than
the polls currently predict," Credit Suisse analyst Sonali
Punhan wrote.
"Voting is likely to be very fluid and could change as we
move closer to the polling day... The election result is likely
to be very uncertain."
Some other firms at risk of being nationalised under a
Labour government, though initially muted, gained after
prospects of a Tory victory increased. Royal Mail added
2.7% and RBS climbed 1.5%.
FirstGroup led mid-cap gainers with an 8% rise after
Britain's competition watchdog said it could accept undertakings
offered by the company and Italy's TrenItalia for the West Coast
rail franchise.
Struggling floor coverings retailer Carpetright
surged 15% to 4.87 pence, its best day in nearly seven months,
after agreeing to be taken private by its largest shareholder in
a 5 pence a share deal.
By contrast, lender Non-Standard Finance tumbled 18%
to an all-time low after a profit warning. Its shares have
slumped nearly 30% since June, when it failed in a hostile
takeover of larger rival Provident Financial
.
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
