UPDATE 2-Oil stocks boost FTSE 100 as China data signals recovery

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* BP , Shell among top boosts as oil gains more than 1%
* Clarkson jumps 12.1%; resumes dividend, first-half profit
rises
* Superdry hits one-month high on liquidity-boosting steps
* FTSE 100 up 0.3% FTSE 250 adds 0.6%
* U.S. fiscal stimulus eyed

(Updates to close)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Susan Mathew
Aug 10 (Reuters) - London-listed shares ended off session
highs on Monday as the number of COVID-19 cases in Britain
surged, while hopes of more global stimulus and some upbeat data
kept alive expectations of an economic rebound.
After gaining as much as 1.2%, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100
.FTSE closed up 0.3%, with BP Plc BP.L and Royal Dutch Shell
Plc RDSa.L among the biggest boosts.
Oil prices rose on an improvement in Chinese factory data,
hopes for more coronavirus-related stimulus from the United
States, and as Saudi Aramco (SE:2222) forecast rising energy demand. O/R
Material stocks .FTNMX1750 also gained 4.6%, while
defensive plays such as healthcare stocks led losses. MET/L
The mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC closed at a seven-week high
with shares of shipping services provider Clarkson CKN.L
jumping 12.1% as it resumed dividend after a first-half profit
rise. Focus was on U.S. stimulus after President Donald Trump
signed executive orders on Saturday partly restoring enhanced
unemployment payments. MKTS/GLOB
The FTSE 100 has rallied about 24% since its March low but
has unperformed both European and U.S. benchmarks as a
persistent rise in COVID-19 cases threatens a nascent business
recovery.
Britain on Sunday reported its highest daily rise in new
infections since late June. On Monday it recorded a slightly
lesser 816 new cases. A clutch of data will be eyed this week, including the
unemployment rate and June gross domestic product figures.
"By July, we think that around 4 million people had already
left the government's job furlough scheme and 5 million remained
on the scheme," said Ruth Gregory, Capital Economics' senior UK
economist.
"That fall is faster than we had expected but does not
change our forecast that the ILO unemployment rate will reach a
peak of around 7% by mid-2021."
Fashion retailer Superdry SDRY.L jumped 18.7% to a
one-month high after agreeing a new 70 million pound ($91.5
million) lending facility to get it through the coronavirus
crisis.