(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* FTSE 100 up 0.1%, FTSE 250 falls 0.4%
Oct 27 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 inched higher on
Tuesday after Europe's biggest lender HSBC and oil major BP
posted upbeat earnings, but gains were capped as Britain
announced wider coronavirus restrictions in the face of surging
cases.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 0.1% after closing
more than 1% lower on Monday.
Asia-focussed HSBC HSBA.L jumped 5.5% after it reported a
smaller-than-expected 35% drop in quarterly profit and signalled
a pandemic-induced overhaul of its business model. The wider banks' sub-index .FTNMX8350 gained 3.5%.
BP Plc BP.L added 1.6% after the oil major swung to a
small profit in the third quarter, beating forecasts.
The domestically-focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index .FTMC
lost 0.4%.
The latest round of coronavirus curbs will take the number
of people under England's highest category of alert to nearly
eight million, with Warrington in northwest England to be
classified as the highest Tier 3 alert level, Britain's health
ministry said. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc BLPU.L gained 16.7% after the
Harry Potter publisher posted higher first-half revenue and
pre-tax profit and resumed interim dividend.