UPDATE 2-Worsening trade conflict drags down London's FTSE 100

* FTSE 100 down 1.2%, FTSE 250 down 1.4%
* Stobart up among mid-caps after results
* Mining shares retreat after two days of gains
* Oil majors weighed down by trade war worries

(Adds company news items, updates to closing prices)
By Muvija M
May 29 (Reuters) - British stock markets wobbled lower on
Wednesday as signs of an escalation in the China-U.S. trade
conflict, coupled with growing worries of a no-deal Brexit, hurt
demand for risk.
The main index .FTSE gave up 1.2%, while the more
domestically focussed midcap market .FTMC , more vulnerable to
Brexit jitters, tumbled to a 2-month and ended closed down 1.4%.
All 10 blue-chip sectoral indices were in the red.
China's Communist Party newspaper warned on Wednesday that
Beijing was ready to use its dominance in rare earths to strike
back against the United States in their increasingly bitter
trade dispute. London's listed mining companies .FTNMX1770 , focused on
conventional industrial metals and a large part of the blue-chip
index, slipped 2% on its worst day in nearly three months amid
worries about the trade war's effect on global demand.

Asia-exposed banks HSBC HSBA.L and Standard Chartered
STAN.L were also hit, while oil majors BP BP.L and Shell
RDSa.L also dragged down the main index as crude prices sank
2%.
"Risk aversion has been on the rise as investors grow
increasingly concerned over the impact that the ongoing trade
dispute is having on the global economy," London Capital Markets
analyst Jasper Lawler wrote.
"Weakening macro data is heightening these concerns,
fuelling fears of a global recession. An unresolved Brexit and
rising tensions between Rome and the European Commission are
adding to the gloomier outlook."
Tesco TSCO.L fell 5.2% to a three-month low after a Kantar
Worldpanel report showed Britain's "Big Four" supermarkets
continued to lose market share. Rivals Sainsbury's SBRY.L and
Morrisons MRW.L were also hit.
British American Tobacco BATS.L and Imperial Brands lost
over 2%, a day after data from Nielsen showed cigarette industry
volumes fell in the four weeks to May 18.
Defensive stocks, including utilities Severn Trent SVT.L
and National Grid NG.L , considered less risky in times of
political and economic uncertainty, also gained about half a
percent each.
The flip side of the mining risk was a rise in prices of
gold, considered a safe haven. Fresnillo FRES.L eked out
slight gains, while African venture Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd
RBWR.L surged 26%.
Support services group Stobart STOB.L added 6% on the FTSE
250 after reporting a 39% surge in full-year revenue on the back
of strong performances in aviation and energy. However, the index was weighed down by weakness in sterling
due to the return of concerns over the potential for a no-deal
Brexit after the Irish finance minister said it is too late to
tweak the Irish "backstop" mechanism in Britain's EU withdrawal
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UK shares lag European & U.S. peers as global trade fears ,
Brexit worries weigh https://tmsnrt.rs/2WcCBkX
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