UPDATE 2-UK midcaps slip on weak data; trade news cushions FTSE fall

* FTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 down 0.7%
* Ashtead biggest loser on the main index
* Modest trade optimism returns
* Ted Baker tanks after a cocktail of bad updates
* UK GDP data underwhelming

(Adds news items, analyst comments, updates to closing prices)
By Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi
Dec 10 (Reuters) - Britain's mid-cap index tumbled on
Tuesday after lacklustre domestic growth data, while the FTSE
100 came off its earlier lows on a report that planned U.S.
tariffs on China could be delayed.
The bluechip index .FTSE had slid as much as 1.3%, weighed
down by a more than 6% drop in Ashtead AHT.L after the
industrial firm warned of challenging conditions in the UK.
The bourse subsequently recouped a bulk of those losses to
end 0.3% lower, boosted by a Wall Street Journal report https://on.wsj.com/2E1KAph
that negotiators from Washington and Beijing were planning on
delaying tariffs set to come into effect this Sunday.
"Though it is not the agreement the markets are so desperate
for, a can-kick is better than nothing," Spreadex analyst Connor
Campbell said.
The FTSE 250 .FTMC shed 0.7%, as recent optimism over a
prospective victory for the Conservative Party in Britain's Dec.
12 election gave way to concerns about slowing economic growth.
Data showed Britain's economy grew at its slowest annual
pace in nearly seven years in October. Though sterling managed
to shrug off the negative reading, more domestically-focussed
stocks remained pressured. Fashion retailer Ted Baker TED.L plunged as much as 36%,
to levels not seen since 2003, after the sudden exit of its
chief executive and chairman as it issued a second profit
warning in two months and suspended its dividend.
The retailer is bracing for its worst annual performance
since its 1997 listing.
"Ted Baker is truly having the nightmare before Christmas,"
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said. "The business
appears to be unravelling... given how Ted has gone from being a
retail superstar to one very much out of fashion."
Some of the UK's biggest retailers dragged on the main
bourse after data showed total grocery sales growth slowed in
the 12 weeks to Dec. 1. Morrisons MRW.L dropped 3% and
Sainsbury's SBRY.L declined by 1.4%. Engine maker Rolls-Royce RR.L fell 3.3% after the
resignation of Bradley Singer, a representative of its largest
shareholder, the activist investor ValueAct Capital.
Meanwhile, Tullow Oil TLW.L outperformed the mid-caps as
it jumped 14.3%, a day after plunging 70% following the exit of
its CEO and dividend suspension.