* FTSE 100 outperforms Europe's STOXX 600
* Ocado jumps as retail sales soar
* All eyes on BoE meeting on Thursday
(Adds details, updates to market close)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Ambar Warrick
Sept 15 (Reuters) - London's blue-chip index ended at a
three-week high on Tuesday as miners were helped by upbeat
Chinese industrial output data, while the mid-cap index was
supported by insurers on the prospect of lower-than-expected
COVID-19 payouts.
A 1.3% gain in the FTSE 100 .FTSE saw the index outperform
its European peers, with Rio Tinto RIO.L and BHP Group
BHPB.L among the biggest boosts as data showed China's
industrial output accelerated the most in eight months in
August. .EU MKTS/GLOB
Online supermarket Ocado Group OCDO.L topped the FTSE 100
after saying its retail joint venture with Marks & Spencer
MKS.L posted a 52% jump in revenue in the 13 weeks to Aug. 30.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC rose 0.8%, with major insurers
supporting the index after a court ruling meant that some of
them would have to pay much less than expected in claims to
small firms battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The index, considered a barometer of Brexit sentiment, has
underperformed the FTSE 100 this month following Prime Minister
Boris Johnson's plan to breach the Brexit treaty with the
European Union. The proposal won initial approval in the UK
parliament on Monday. "A deal is now at best a 50:50 probability," ING economists
wrote in a note. "The key factor will be whether the Internal
Market Bill makes its way through the Commons and Lords
successfully. If so, the EU is highly unlikely to sign a
free-trade agreement."
Later in the week eyes will be on a Bank of England policy
meeting, where the central bank is likely to signal more
stimulus to lift the economy out of a deep recession that could
be exacerbated by a messy Brexit. Britain's jobless rate rose in the three months to July, the
first such increase since coronavirus-led lockdowns began in
March, but data also showed a less severe fall in employment
than feared.