* FTSE 100 up 1 pct, at 5-month high
* FTSE 250 about flat
* Worldpay's London shares jump after buyout deal
* Financial stocks up on M&A
* Hunting up on rating upgrade (Adds news items, updates share moves)By Muvija M and Shashwat AwasthiMarch 18 (Reuters) - London's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 surgedto a five-month high on the back of a drop in sterling afterBritain's parliament speaker struck a fresh blow to TheresaMay's EU divorce deal, while a rally in miners and oil stocksalso lent support.The FTSE 100 added 1 percent - its biggest one-dayrise since early February - to mark a sixth straight session ofgains while midcaps ended roughly flat as a weaker poundweighed.Parliamentary speaker John Bercow said any proposal BritishPrime Minister Theresa May puts to lawmakers must besubstantially different to the ones previously rejected by them. "The government now faces the total ruin of its strategy, asa third 'Meaningful Vote' (a term that becomes less meaningfulwith each vote) is ruled out unless changes are made," saidChris Beauchamp, analyst at IG.Bercow's comments aggravated Brexit jitters as May has justa few days to push her divorce deal through if she wants to goto an EU summit on Thursday with something to offer them inreturn for more time.Sterling slipped in response to the chaotic turn of events,although that boded well for FTSE 100, which books a big chunkof its earnings in the greenback.
British American Tobacco jumped nearly 3 percentwhile smaller peer Imperial Brands and pharmaceuticalgiants GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca all rose.On the main index, Shell and BP were amongthe top boosts on higher crude prices, while miners jumped 2.4 percent on their best day in nearly two months,tracking gains in iron ore futures on supply concerns afterVale's output cuts.
Both UK indexes enjoyed a strong run last week on hopes thata potentially disruptive no-deal Brexit would be averted, butthe more domestically-focussed midcaps ended their winningstreak on Monday.News-related moves were scant but buyout bids boosted banks.German giants Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank confirming that they were in talks about a mergerboosted financial stocks to levels not seen sincelast October.In the broader financial sector, London-listed shares inpayment processor Worldpay also surged 9.3 percentafter the UK-based group agreed to be bought over by U.S.fintech group Fidelity National Information Services forabout $35 billion.Bank stocks are also on a six-day winning streak with ano-deal Brexit on March 29 seemingly off the table.
Footasylum shot up 74.2 percent to 81 pence,inching near the 82.5 pence a share offered by larger JD Sports for the sportswear retailer. JD Sports added 1.1 percent.
Oilfield services provider Hunting rose 4 percent onthe FTSE 250 index after UBS hiked its rating on stock. (Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi in BengaluruEditingby Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)
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