UPDATE 2-Fed signals help FTSE 100 brush off Italy woes, buyout spurs Acacia

* FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 up 0.4%
* Acacia jumps on Barrick's increased buyout offer
* Dovish comments from Fed officials spur rate cut hopes
* Italy's political woes hit financial stocks
* WPP down after rival Publicis cuts forecast

(Adds news items, updates to closing prices)
By Shashwat Awasthi
July 19 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended higher on Friday
as bolstered hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut stoked risk
appetite, though the index's advances were reined in after
political turmoil in Italy triggered a broad sell-off in bank
stocks.
The blue-chip index .FTSE ended up 0.2%, after climbing as
much as 0.7%. The mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC rose 0.4%, as Acacia
Mining soared after agreeing to an increased buyout offer from
Barrick Gold.
Acacia ACAA.L surged more than 19% to 222.6 pence on its
best day ever after Barrick ABX.TO , its largest shareholder,
agreed to buy out the remaining shares in the company it does
not already own at an implied value of 232 pence a share.
However, fresh political troubles in Italy amid speculation
that the government might collapse, drove investors away from
financial stocks across Europe. RBS RBS.L and Lloyds LLOY.L
lost more than 1% each on the FTSE 100. Still, the main index held on to gains, which came after top
U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Thursday argued the need to
quickly stimulate the economy, cementing bets that the Fed will
cut rates at its July 30-31 policy meeting. "While it is looking increasingly certain that the Fed will
probably cut rates this month, it is stretching credibility to
suggest that they will cut by 50 basis points," CMC Markets
analyst Michael Hewson said.
Spurred in part by lingering expectations of interest rate
cuts by central banks, the exporter-heavy FTSE 100 has overcome
a slump it suffered in May due to global trade uncertainty, and
is on course for its best year since 2016.
The index has also benefited as Brexit risks have pummelled
the pound. On Friday, those risks were heightened as a Reuters
poll showed eurosceptic Boris Johnson leading Jeremy Hunt in the
race to be the next Prime Minister. However, an unexpected rebound in retail sales in June did
raise hopes that the sector could tide over risks from a
Brexit-driven hit to consumer sentiment. Ocado OCDO.L jumped 4.7% on the main index, while Just Eat
JE.L and Sainsbury's SBRY.L also rose.
Travel firm TUI TUIT.L added 5.1% on hopes that it would
be compensated by Boeing BA.N , after the U.S. planemaker said
it would take a $4.9 billion charge related to estimated
disruptions from the grounding of its 737 MAX jets. But WPP WPP.L slid 2.2% after French rival Publicis
PUBP.PA cut its annual revenue growth target. Publicis is
struggling to revive sluggish sales in the U.S. amid increasing
competition for ad dollars from Facebook FB.O and Google
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Acacia shares gain since Barrick's bid in May https://tmsnrt.rs/2O5wb3v
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