* FTSE 100 down 0.03 pct
* FTSE 250 down 0.01 pct
* Oil weighs on the index, financials gain
* Debenhams surges on Sports Direct's possible bid
* Midcap Avast drops after discounted stake sale (Adds company news items, changes quote, updates to closingprices throughout)By Muvija M and Yadarisa ShabongMarch 27 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 struggled to stayafloat ahead of indicative votes on a series of alternate Brexitoptions in parliament anda sharp drop in oil majors offset arally in financial stocks.Worries of an economic slowdown also resurfaced.Although both the FTSE 100 and the more domesticallyfocused FTSE 250 started the day with gains, they endedin negative territory albeit with marginal losses.As the Brexit saga rolls on, a member of the Britishparliament said Prime Minister Theresa May told ConservativeParty lawmakers that she would quit if her twice-defeated Brexitdeal gets approved by parliament. The British parliament is set to hold so-called indicativevotes later this evening on Brexit, with eight options rangingfrom leaving abruptly with no deal to revoking the divorcepapers or holding a new referendum. "Time is running out though and without parliamentcoalescing around a majority view, the default is stillno-deal," said Neil Wilson, Markets.com analyst.Shell and BP slipped as crude prices dippedfollowing an unexpected rise in U.S. crude stocks last week asexports slowed after a chemical spill along the country'sbusiest energy port. Helping cushion the fall were financial stocks, whichrallied ahead of parliamentary votes. Lloyds , Barclays , Royal Bank of Scotland were among the topboosts to the index.
"The banks are higher as the mood is optimistic ahead of theindicative votes in Westminster later, the process should shedsome light on what MPs actually want, rather than what theydon't want," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.That, and strong half-year results from midcap homebuilderBellway, led to gains in housebuilders , which areconsidered to be particularly Brexit-sensitive.
Persimmon , Barratt and Taylor Wimpey were among the biggest risers on the main bourse.
Also outshining the index was telecom firm BT with a1 percent rise after report that Britain's biggest broadbandoperator was considering a 25 percent workforce cut. Marring the sentiment was also new worries over the globaleconomy, with benchmark U.S. Treasury yields sinking to 15-monthlows and German bond yields falling further below zero.Struggling department store chain Debenhams , whichsurged nearly 30 percent to 2.8 pence, below the 5 pence a sharepossible buyout offer from Mike Ashley's Sports Direct . "The Sports Direct owner has finally made his move, yet themost closely watched British retail saga in years is unlikely tobe concluded smoothly or even quickly," City Index analyst KenOdeluga said.Among midcaps, cyber security firm Avast slipped4.5 percent after a heavily discounted share sale.Bellway rose 2.2 percent after saying trading in thefirst six weeks since the start of February has been strong asit reported a rise in first-half earnings and hiked dividend. Meat packaging firm Hilton Food shed initial gainsto drop nearly 3 percent despite reporting higher annualearnings. It added that it believed it was "sufficientlyresilient" to withstand the Brexit uncertainties. (Reporting by Muvija M and Yadarisa Shabong in BengaluruEditing by Keith Weir and Alexandra Hudson)
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