FTSE 100 up 1.1, FTSE 250 up 1.0

Nov 22 Reuters The UK39;s FTSE 100 was on course for its biggest weekly gain in more than six months on Friday, as a slide in sterling supported companies earning in dollars, while banks came under pressure from weak business activity data.

The FTSE 100 rose 1.1 by 1400 GMT, and looked set for a 2.2 weekly rise, its best since May 7.

The pound tumbled 0.5 to 1.25260 per dollar, its weakest since May, after data showed British business output in November shrank for the first time in more than a year, and retail sales also fell by much more than expected in October.

The currency39;s decline helped lift shares of UKlisted international firms such as AstraZeneca, Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser, which draw a major portion of their revenue overseas.

However, banks including Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group dropped between 0.5 and 3, weighed down by the gloomy data.

Traders expect the Bank of England to hold interest rates next month, but see more cuts coming next year. They now expect 72 basis points of cuts next year, compared with 67 bps a day earlier.

The FTSE 250 midcap index rose 1, on course for modest weekly gains.

Games Workshop jumped 16 to an alltime high after the miniature wargame maker39;s upbeat halfyear forecast.

Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath

Source Reuters