UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 ekes out gains on pharma strength

* FTSE 100 up 0.1%, FTSE 250 up 0.5%

* Astra, GSK offer most support to main bourse

* HSBC falls after profit miss

* Cairn Energy biggest midcap faller
(Adds company news items, changes analyst quote, updates share
moves)

By Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi

Oct 28 (Reuters) - The exporter-laden FTSE 100
recovered from early losses on Monday despite a rebound in
sterling, boosted by gains in leading drug stocks and as
prospects for a U.S.-China trade agreement powered miners and
industrials.

The blue chip index closed 0.1% higher, lagging peers on
Wall Street and in Europe as a near 4% drop in HSBC
after an underwhelming earnings update, and a slide in dollar
earners, capped gains.

The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 outperformed
with a 0.5% rise ahead of a parliamentary vote on Prime Minister
Boris Johnson's demand for a general election.

AstraZeneca climbed as much 3.6% after saying a
combination of its cancer drug, Imfinzi, along with chemotherapy
helped curb progression of lung cancer in a late-stage study.
The shares ended up 1%.

In the same sector GlaxoSmithKline added 2.2% after
the company said it had begun a late-stage study of its
experimental antibiotic in patients with urinary tract
infections and gonorrhoea.

Gains of between 1.3% and 2.2% in Glencore, BHP
and Anglo American powered the mining sector
, exposed to the international trade scenario, to a
one-month high after U.S. President Donald Trump said he
expected to sign a significant part of a trade deal with China
ahead of schedule.

EARNINGS TARGET

By contrast HSBC shares suffered their biggest
one-day loss in eight months as the bank's third-quarter profit
missed expectations and it dropped its 2020 earnings target amid
macro-economic uncertainties.

The update dragged a sub-index of banks 2.4%
lower.

Financial companies have also had to adjust to a lower
interest rate environment this year as central banks globally
move to loosen monetary policies to cushion an impact from trade
tensions.

To that end, markets are also keeping a close eye on the
U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting this week for more support to the
slowing global economy.

"We see the Fed cutting rates this week and possibly again
next year, as it seeks to provide insurance against a broad
economic slowdown", BlackRock analysts wrote in their weekly
note.

In addition, UK firms face a lack of clarity at home as
lawmakers and Prime Minister Boris Johnson feud over Brexit.
Earlier in the day, the European Union agreed a three-month
flexible delay to the Oct. 31 exit date.

Among midcaps, there was an 8.1% plunge in Cairn Energy
after the oil and gas explorer abandoned an offshore
well in Mexico.

Aston Martin, which has plunged nearly 80% from its
2018 debut, dropped 8.5% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch
downgraded the stock.
(Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi
Additional reporting by Safia Infant in Bengaluru
Editing by Arun Koyyur and David Holmes
)