* FTSE 100 up 0.5 pct
* FTSE 250 up 0.1 pct
* Tesco rises after jolly Christmas
* Halfords sinks after update
* Banks and oil majors lift the main index
(Changes analyst comment, updates moves)By Muvija M and Shashwat AwasthiJan 10 (Reuters) - British shares turned around on Thursdayto end the session at their highest in over a month as investorsshrugged off a lack of detail from Sino-U.S. trade talks andweak news from the high street that renewed worries about theretail sector.
The main index added 0.5 percent and midcaps edgedup 0.1 percent, both indexes holding on to their one-monthhighs.
European and Asian markets suffered an initial fall when theworld's two largest economies failed to give concrete details ofefforts to end their trade war, and on growing concerns ofpolitical instability in the United States.
President Donald Trump stormed out of talks with Democraticcongressional leaders on Wednesday over funding for a borderwall with Mexico and reopening the government. However, on Thursday Trump said there was "tremendoussuccess" with China on trade, helping calm some nerves on thetrade war front, while positive jobless claims data also helpedease worries over the economy's health.Ken Odeluga, City Index analyst, attributed Thursday'sseesaw in UK indexes to "very orderly" profit taking, addingthat it was not surprising that "sufficient number of buyersturned up to manage to swing things around later in the day".
Amid growing uncertainty around Brexit, British PrimeMinister suffered a further blow late on Wednesday whenparliament demanded her government come up with a "Plan B"within days if she loses a vote next Tuesday on her divorcedeal, as the March 29 exit date ticks closer. Business minister Greg Clark said a no-deal Brexit would bea disaster and partners such as Japan need assurance that itwill be avoided. "A rejection of the withdrawal agreement wouldn't come as ashock to the markets... If the withdrawal agreement passes, UKdomestic equities and GBP could rally in tandem, as both areunder-owned," Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy atBarclays, said.Adding to signs of an economic slowdown ahead of thedeadline, data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showedretailers failed to increase their Christmas sales for the firsttime since the depths of the financial crisis a decade ago. Tesco , Britain's biggest retailer, bucked the trendwith a 2.2 percent rise in its share price after higher UKlike-for-like sales over Christmas. Jefferies analysts said thetrading update confirmed Tesco as the "clear 2018 UK Christmaswinner".Otherwise, the largely downbeat trading updates from highstreet staples - Marks & Spencer , Debenhams andHalfords - deepened the gloom across the retail sectoras shoppers reined in spending.The retailers' index snapped a six-day winningstreak.Halfords, a cycling and car parts chain on the midcap index,slumped 22.2 percent to its lowest in more than six years, whileCard Factory plunged 13.7 percent to a life low, aftertheir trading updates disappointed investors.Small-cap department store group Debenhams slid 14.7percent after saying it was looking for fresh funding as the241-year-old group battles to survive. Boosting the main index were banks and energy shares, which hit their highest levels in roughly amonth.Burberry was the biggest FTSE 100 faller, anothervictim of concerns about China's slowing economy as the traderow rumbles on. A Berenberg downgrade also weighed.Mid-cap pub operator Mitchells & Butlers rose 7.7percent after reporting higher comparable sales for thethree-week holiday season. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^FTSE 10D RSI ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru;editing by Josephine Mason/Kevin Liffey/Susan Fenton)
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