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* FTSE 100 up 0.1%, FTSE 250 up 0.2%
* AstraZeneca biggest boost to main index
* RBS slides after reporting Q3 loss
Oct 24 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 held firm at a near
one-month high on Thursday as gains in AstraZeneca after a 2019
target upgrade countered losses in Royal Bank of Scotland
following a weak third-quarter update, while midcaps
outperformed as sterling rose.
The blue-chip index .FTSE inched up by 0.1% at 0708 GMT,
while the FTSE 250 index .FTMC gained 0.2%.
AstraZeneca AZN.L added 2.3% after the pharmaceutical
giant raised its annual product sales forecast for the second
time this year, thanks in part to strong demand for new cancer
treatments. On the other end of the spectrum was Royal Bank of Scotland
RBS.L that skidded 3% as it swung to a third-quarter loss due
to a fresh 900 million pound provision to settle mis-selling
claims in Britain's biggest consumer banking scandal.