* FTSE 100 up 0.3 pct, mid-caps up 0.5 pct
* Ocado at record high on partnership deal
* Housebuilders gain after HSBC upgrades
* Carnival slumps on reduced profit target
* ConvaTec surges on M&A talks (Recasts, adds company news items, quote, updates prices)By Shashwat Awasthi and Muvija MMarch 26 (Reuters) - London's main index bounced back fromtwo sessions of losses as exporters were boosted by a strongdollar while oil companies rose on higher crude prices and Ocado surged to a record high on its latest partnership deal.The FTSE 100 added 0.3 percent, lagging behindEuropean peers as Brexit uncertainties kept a lid on gains,while the FTSE 250 firmed by 0.5 percent.After British lawmakers on Monday wrested control of theparliamentary agenda from the government for a day in the hopeof breaking the Brexit deadlock, two eurosceptic lawmakersindicated they might support Prime Minister Theresa May's EUdivorce deal rather than risk parliament cancelling the exit.Sterling gained after that, with parliament poised toconduct indicative votes on a range of options on Wednesday. Dublin's main index , seen as a barometer of Brexitmood, also recovered from initial losses to register a 0.2percent gain. However, CMC Markets analyst David Madden emphasised thatthere was still no clarity on how, when or even if the UK wouldleave the European bloc.He said that had led to housebuilders , whichare considered particularly sensitive to Brexit-related news,giving up some of the early gains and prompted losses infinancial stocks including Barclays and Lloyds .Homebuilders had initially rallied on bullish comments onthe sector and rating upgrades from HSBC.
Leading gains on the main index were internationally focusedstocks, such as Diageo , GlaxoSmithKline andReckitt Benckiser , lifted by a stronger dollar as U.S.benchmark 10-year yields recovered from 15-month lows. Also supporting the index were oil majors Shell andBP as their share prices tracked a rally in crude oil. Online grocer Ocado rose 4.1 percent to a record
high after signing a partnership deal with Australia's ColesGroup in its fifth major overseas tie-up in less than18 months.London-listed shares in Carnival , the world'slargest cruise operator, slumped by 8.5 percent after it cut itsannual profit forecast on an expected hit from higher fuelprices and a stronger dollar. Ferguson , meanwhile, slid 7.2 percent on its worstday in nearly three years after the heating and plumbingequipment supplier said it expected trading profit for the yearto be towards the lower end of analyst expectations. Mid-cap housebuilder Crest Nicholson added 5percent after naming Galliford Try's Peter Truscott aschief executive. Galliford dipped 2.4 percent. Medical devices maker ConvaTec jumped 6 percent -its biggest one-day gain in more than a year - after Swedishbusiness daily Dagens Industri said that several players wererunning the numbers for a possible buyout. (Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Muvija M, additionalreporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Jon Boyleand David Goodman)