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* FTSE 100 down 0.5%, FTSE 250 flat
* Stocks trading ex-dividend weigh
* Trade worries persist after Trump signs HK legislation
* Virgin Money UK surges on mid-caps
Nov 28 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 retreated from a near
four-month high on Thursday, weighed down by a handful of stocks
trading ex-dividend, subdued U.S.-China trade deal hopes, and a
firmer pound.
The blue-chip index .FTSE fell 0.5% by 0810 GMT,
underperforming the European benchmark .STOXX , with Vodafone
VOD.L and chemicals firm Johnson Mathey JMAT.L shedding over
3% each as they traded without entitlement to dividend pay-out.
Asia-focussed HSBC HSBA.L and miners .FTNMX1770 also
dragged on the blue-chip bourse, after tensions between the
United States and China over the Hong Kong situation threatened
to derail hopes of progress in their trade talks. The FTSE 250 .FTMC , which scaled a near 1-1/2 year high in
the previous session, was flat. Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank
owner Virgin Money UK VMUK.L jumped 13%, which analysts cited
to reassuring 2020 forecast.