Healthcare stocks boost FTSE 100, economy worries weigh on midcap stocks

March 24 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended higher on Thursday, aided by healthcare and consumer staple stocks, although concerns about surging inflation and the fallout from the Ukraine crisis weighed on overall sentiment and dragged down the midcap index.

The blue-chip FTSE index edged 0.1% higher, with AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline among the top gainers. While the domestically focused midcap index slipped 0.5%.

Data on Wednesday showed inflation hit a new 30-year high, while measures unveiled by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak to ease the worst cost-of-living squeeze in decades did little to ease the worries.

"The outlook for the UK economy is weak at the moment because of the triple whammy of higher taxes, interest rates and energy prices. That is going to squeeze consumer spending in the next couple of quarters or so," said Dhaval Joshi, chief strategist at BCA Research.

A survey earlier in the day showed that Britain's private sector reported the steepest rise in prices charged by companies since at least 1999 and optimism is at its lowest ebb in almost a year and a half.

Investors were closely watching a special NATO summit where U.S. President Joe Biden took part in a closed-door session with European allies, amid a dispute over whether to impose further energy sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

A further boost to the export-oriented FTSE came from large dollar earning companies, including spirits maker Diageo and British American Tobacco, as they benefited from a dip in pound.

AstraZeneca jumped 1.1% after European drug regulator authorised the use of company's antibody drug for preventing COVID-19 infections in adults and adolescents over 12 years of age.

Clothing retailer Next slipped 3.3% after it trimmed its sales and profit guidance for 2022-23, reflecting the closure of its websites in Ukraine and Russia.

Fantasy miniatures maker Games Workshop Group jumped 3.3% after announcing a dividend and saying that trading in the three months to February had been in line with expectations. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Aditya Soni and Jane Merriman)