* FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 down 0.9%
* Markets eye details of Brexit negotiations
* Housebuilders among biggest blue-chip losers
* Royal Mail skids after union votes for nationwide strike
* Neil Woodford's listed fund hits fresh record low
(Adds news items, analyst comment, updates share prices)
By Shashwat Awasthi
Oct 16 (Reuters) - London's domestically focussed mid-cap
index slipped on Wednesday with investors looking for
confirmation that a Brexit deal was really in the offing.
The FTSE 250 .FTMC , which had rallied more than 3% since
last week on hopes that Britain could clinch a timely divorce
deal, fell 0.9%. Traders are eyeing a crunch summit this week
after last-ditch talks between London and the European Union.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE was roughly flat as gains in
exporter firms like Reckitt RB.L , due to a weaker pound, were
offset by a drop in housebuilders after Barratt pointed to signs
of weakening future revenue.
Barratt BDEV.L , Britain's largest housebuilder, gave up
3.7%, while peers Persimmon PSN.L and Taylor Wimpey TW.L
lost around 3% each.
The sector .FTNMX3720 , which is sensitive to updates that
can impact consumer spending, has also seen volatile trading in
recent weeks amid a flurry of Brexit headlines.
Officials involved in eleventh hour negotiations overnight
said that differences over the terms of the split had narrowed
significantly. That followed a Bloomberg report that a draft deal was close
to being sealed, which spurred a rally in firms more
domestically exposed, including banks such as Lloyds LLOY.L
and RBS RBS.L , and led mid-caps to a more than one-year high.
"The permutations are labyrinthine, but financial markets
are not hanging around to await the details," Oanda analyst
Jeffrey Halley said, though he warned that market participants
could yet be left disappointed.
Uncertainty remains whether a deal will be sealed at an EU
summit on Thursday and Friday, and if Britain's minority
government can get it through parliament.
News-driven moves saw AIM-listed ASOS ASOS.L , a victim of
multiple profit warnings this year, jump 14% after the online
fashion retailer said it had made strides in resolving
warehousing issues that ate into its annual profit. In contrast, clothing retailer Next NXT.L skid 2.5% after
its CEO sold more than 10 million pounds worth of shares, while
mid-cap Royal Mail RMG.L fell 6% after a major union voted in
favour of a nationwide strike. Shares of Woodford Patient Capital Trust WPCT.L sank 6.4%
to a fresh record low, a day after embattled money manager Neil
Woodford resigned as its investment manager.