UPDATE 2-UK shares inch higher; HSBC, AstraZeneca cap gains

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* Miners top gainers on FTSE 100
* Housing market slowed in February
* IG Group jumps on strong results
* FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 adds 0.6%

(Updates to close)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Amal S
March 11 (Reuters) - British shares ended higher on Thursday
as firmer commodity prices boosted mining and energy stocks,
while HSBC traded ex-dividend and AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) sank on doubts
over its COVID-19 vaccine.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE ended up 0.2%, with
mining stocks including Rio Tinto RIO.L , Anglo American
AAL.L and BHP Group BHPB.L gaining between 1.8% and
4.6%. MET/L
Oil heavyweights BP BP.L and Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L
were also among the biggest boosts to the FTSE 100, as crude
prices rose. O/R
HSBC Holdings HSBA.L , which traded ex-dividend, was the
worst performer in the index, while AstraZeneca AZN.L fell
2.5% after health authorities in Italy, Denmark and Norway
temporarily suspended the use of the drugmaker's COVID-19
vaccines on reports of blood clots and death.
Benign U.S. inflation data had taken some recent pressure
off stocks, with Wall Street indexes hitting record highs. But
investors see overheated inflation as a long shot in the UK,
given the severe economic slowdown from COVID-19. .N
"We're not convinced that we're going to get strong
inflation this year because the economy is still too weak," said
Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard.
"There's still a huge output gap that needs to be filled and
the economy is working below potential, that simply aren't the
conditions for inflation to fully develop, that's more of a
story for 2022 and beyond"
Still, the FTSE's recovery run from pandemic lows has
somewhat stalled this year as sectors apart from financials came
under pressure from high bond yields. Weak local economic
readings have also weighed on sentiment.
The slow start to 2021 for Britain's housing market
stretched into February, before finance minister Rishi Sunak
announced new measures that could revive a property boom that
began after the first lockdown last year, a survey showed.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index .FTMC rose
0.6%, led by industrials stocks.
IG Group IGG.L rose 4.9% on a jump in third-quarter
revenue despite a tough comparative a year ago, driven by high
trading during the period that saw a retail frenzy in financial
markets.