FTSE 100 down 0.4, FTSE 250 off 0.3

Nov 19 Reuters London39;s main stock indexes gave up early gains and turned lower on Tuesday, with the midcap index hitting a more than threemonth low, as geopolitical tensions between Russia and the United States over Ukraine flared up.

The exportfocussed FTSE 100 dropped 0.4 after touching a oneweek high earlier in the session, while the midcap FTSE 250 index lost 0.3.

Banks were the biggest drags on the largecap index, with Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC down over 1.1 each.

Globally, safehaven assets such as gold and the U.S. dollar traded higher after Russia updated its nuclear doctrine by lowering its threshold for a nuclear retaliation and reports said that Ukraine used longrange U.S.made missiles for the first time.

Back home, Burberry slid 5.5 to the bottom of the FTSE 250, bringing the broader personal goods index down by 4.2.

Mulberry Group fell 6.8 after the luxury group reported a wider firsthalf loss than a year earlier, and said it was taking steps to streamline its operations and improve margins under new CEO Andrea Baldo.

On the bright side, Imperial Brands rose nearly 2 after reporting forecastbeating operating profit and said it expected another strong performance next year. The stock was among the top gainers on the FTSE 100.

Meanwhile, brokerage Goldman Sachs cut its forecast for the FTSE 100 for the next one year to 8,500 points from 8,800, while UBS upgraded its outlook on UK equities to overweight.

So far…