UPDATE 2-British retail reopening plan lifts blue chip index

* PM Johnson sets out reopening plan from June 1
* Travel, leisure stocks surge on easing tourism curbs
* Mid-caps end at more than 2-1/2 month high
* Blue-chip index tracks biggest two-month gain in two years

(Adds details, updates with closing prices)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Ambar Warrick
May 26 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's
plans to lift the coronavirus lockdown from more retailers drove
a 1.2% rise in the blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE on Tuesday, while
an easing of curbs on tourism helped travel stocks.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC rose 3.3% to its highest close
in more than 2-1/2 months after Johnson said Britain will reopen
thousands of high street shops, department stores and shopping
centres next month. "The consumer will need to do the bulk of the heavy lifting
so confidence to get out of the house and start to live a normal
life will be critical to this recovery," Stephen Innes, markets
strategist at AxiCorp, said.
The retailers index .FTNMX5370 rose 4.5%, closing at its
highest level since early March.
Travel and leisure stocks .FTNMX5750 ended at a near
one-month high after Spain said it would allow some foreign
tourists from July and Germany was reported to be considering
ending a travel warning for parts of Europe. The FTSE 100 has recovered sharply from its March sell-off
and is now on course for its biggest two-month percentage gain
in two years. But it remains about 19% down on the year, with
macroeconomic data pointing to a deep global recession.
Aston Martin AML.L shares surged more than 27% after the
luxury carmaker said Mercedes-AMG CEO Tobias Moers would become
its chief executive in August. Oil and gas stocks .FTNMX0530 also rose, tracking crude
prices on optimism that a revival in business activity would
bring back demand for the commodity. O/R
Mining stocks .FTNMX1770 were driven lower by a stronger
pound GBP= , while defensive stocks such as pharmaceuticals
.FTNMX4570 and healthcare .FTNMX4530 also lost ground.