UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 ends higher on improving economic activity; gains for the third week

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markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* British firms fared less badly during Feb lockdown -
survey
* NatWest gains after it shuts Irish arm
* TBC Bank falls as COVID-19 hits profit
* FTSE 100 up 0.1%, FTSE 250 adds 0.5%

(Updates to close)
By Shivani Kumaresan, Amal S and Shashank Nayar
Feb 19 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended higher on Friday
after the economy showed signs of improvement this month and was
set to gain for the third consecutive week as investors bet that
vaccine rollouts would spur economic growth.
British firms fared less badly during February's lockdown
than feared and are upbeat about the prospects for growth later
in 2021 when they hope the roll-out of vaccines will allow a
major relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, a survey showed.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE ended 0.1% higher with
miners .FTNMX1770 and banking stocks .FTNMX8350 gaining the
most, while the mid-cap index .FTMC gained 0.5%.
"There is optimism and hope that the vaccine rollouts will
eventually help the economy improve while the market is awaiting
the government's lcokdown easing plans to be revealed next
week," said Keith Temperton, an equity sales trader at Forte
Securities.
However, data on Friday showed British retail sales tumbled
much more than expected in January as non-essential shops went
back into coronavirus lockdowns. The FTSE 100 has recovered nearly 35% from its March 2020
lows and is nearly 13% away from its highest level last year as
record stimulus measures and massive vaccine rollouts helped
improve investor confidence.
NatWest NWG.L gained 5.2% and was the third biggest gainer
on the FTSE 100 index after it said it would wind down its Irish
arm Ulster Bank, as Chief Executive Alison Rose continues to
slash away at underperforming parts of the state-owned lender
after it swung to a loss in 2020. Segro Plc SGRO.L rose 1.5% after the real estate
investment trust reported a near 11% jump in annual profit for
2020. Banking group TBC Bank TBCG.L fell 6.1% after a slump in
annual underlying profit due to lower interest rates and limited
lending growth in the fourth quarter from the COVID-19 pandemic.