* FTSE 100 up 0.8 pct
* FTSE 250 up 1 pct
* BATS, Imperial Brands gain
* Smith & Nephew slumps after M&A chatter
* Mid-cap Metro Bank jumps on rating upgrade (Changes quote, updates to closing prices)By Muvija M and Shashwat AwasthiFeb 11 (Reuters) - British blue-chip names bounced back onMonday buoyed by strength in bank and consumer shares, while astronger dollar lifted companies with greater internationalexposure as a fresh round of Sino-U.S. trade talks commenced.
The main index added 0.8 percent while midcaps were up 1 percent, after ending lower on Friday as freshconcerns over the Sino-U.S. trade situation added to fears of aslowdown in the world economy.
Overseas, gains on Wall Street were led by industrialcompanies as a new round of talks between the United States andChina piqued hopes for a trade deal.
Asia-focused bank HSBC rose 1.5 percent.
Travel group TUI's London-listed shares advanced 5percent to top the FTSE 100 leader-board as traders cited Bankof America Merrill Lynch resuming coverage with a "Buy" rating.
Imperial Brands was 2 percent higher after the tobacco groupsaid its non-executive chairman Mark Williamson would step down.Larger rival British American Tobacco also rose 2.7percent.
The gain in the FTSE 100, coming after three sessions oflosses, marked a strong start to a week in which British PrimeMinister Theresa May is due to update parliament on her progresstowards a European Union divorce deal.
The market held up despite data showing the British economyhad slowed in the final three months of last year, pushinggrowth in 2018 to its weakest in six years, as Brexit worrieshammered investment. The contraction, however, was as expected and came aftereconomic growth forecast cuts by the Bank of England and theEuropean Commission last week.
BREXIT CLOCKS TICKS
As the March 29 exit date ticks closer, a deal on how theworld's sixth-largest economy will leave the European Union isstill in limbo and companies are reigning in spending until thefog clears.
May has rejected the idea of targeting a customs union withthe EU, stamping out hopes that she could shift her Brexitpolicy to win over the opposition Labour Party."Clearly the Brexit discussions - and the need for acompromise to be forged - are a source for further concerns oran opportunity to quell the malaise with huge implications forall UK consumers, employees, employers and the general economy,"Raymond James analyst Chris Bailey said of the data.After touching their highest since November on Chinese ironore futures hitting record levels, metals stocks shed some gainsto end up 1 percent, even as most base metals prices fell onglobal growth worries.Among mid-caps, the biggest boost came from takeaway groupJust Eat , which climbed 4.4 percent after its shareholderCat Rock Capital Management urged the company to start mergertalks and said it would benefit from a deal rather than relyingon a new chief executive officer.
Metro Bank , whose stock has roughly halved in valuefollowing an accounting error, surged 6.5 percent stand amongtop mid-cap gainers following a Berenberg upgrade.
Among a handful of losers was Smith & Nephew whichslid 3 percent after the Financial Times reported that it hasheld talks to buy U.S.-based medical equipment maker NuVasive in a deal that would be worth more than $3 billion.
Small-cap KCOM rose 6.1 percent after the Telegraphreported that Virgin Media was considering a takeover bid, whilelogistics firm Connect Group rose 3 percent on acontract with Daily Mirror publisher Reach Plc . <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^FTSE miners vs the blue-chip index ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru;Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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