* FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 down 0.1%
* Brexit worries resurface
* Softer sterling buoys exporters
* NMC ends lower despite affirming forecasts
* Staffline tanks on another profit warning
(Adds news items, updates share prices to close, replaces
analyst comment)
By Shashwat Awasthi and Yadarisa Shabong
Dec 18 (Reuters) - UK shares more exposed to the domestic
economy eased further on Wednesday, hurt by renewed worries of a
no-deal Brexit after Britain set a hard deadline of December
2020 to reach a new trade deal with the European Union.
The FTSE 250 .FTMC inched 0.1% lower, retreating away from
an all-time high hit on Monday after Prime Minister Boris
Johnson stormed to a victory in a general election last week.
Though a majority for Johnson's Conservative Party was seen
as a harbinger of clarity over Brexit, his latest stance on
negotiating a free trade deal with the EU has again cast doubts
over how Britain's departure process will play out.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE , however, added 0.2% on its sixth day
of gains, its longest winning streak since June.
The index outperformed its European peers thanks to gains in
exporter stocks, which benefited from a weaker pound and helped
overpower losses in domestically-exposed housebuilders
.FTNMX3720 .
JPMorgan's basket of listed companies .JPDEUKEX that make
their cash abroad scaled a five-month high.
The U.S. investment bank sees an "uncomfortably high" 25%
chance of a no-deal Brexit. Lawmakers will vote on Johnson's withdrawal agreement on
Friday. Britain has less than 11 months to iron out a deal with
the European bloc. "I think what the debate going forward is whether you have a
lengthy transitional period ... or whether you have a quicker
period, which isn't a no-deal but basically it is where lots of
the detail is ignored and maybe things such as some WTO rules
are introduced," Raymond James analyst Chris Bailey said.
Among individual stocks, Pearson PSON.L climbed 1.7% on
the main index after announcing plans to exit the consumer
publishing business and the departure of its CEO. Boeing BA.N supplier Meggitt MGGT.L slid 2.6% after
brokerage Panmure Gordon initiated coverage with a "sell" rating
following the U.S. planemaker's decision to temporarily suspend
production of its 737 MAX.
On the other hand, Senior SNR.L , which dived 11% in the
previous session on the MAX news, jumped 7.3% after Panmure
started with a "buy" rating, saying downgrades were priced in.
NMC Healthcare NMC.L slipped another 1%, a day after a
short attack from Muddy Waters wiped off nearly a third of its
market value, even as the UAE-based group stood by its 2019 and
2020 targets. Payments company Finablr FINF.L , which is co-chaired by
the founder and co-chairman of NMC, gave up 5.8%.
AIM-listed recruiter Staffline STAF.L plunged 23% to its
lowest level in nearly a decade after another profit warning.