UPDATE 1-FTSE rises as upbeat trade signals offset slew of profit alerts

London's FTSE 100 advanced on Thursday after four straight sessions in the red, as a conciliatory statement from China on its trade dispute with the United States did enough to counteract a trio of profit warnings from blue-chip components. The FTSE 100 erased earlier losses and added 0.5%, with gains shared among oil majors , financials and miners, after China's commerce ministry said it was is in close communication with Washington over next month's trade talks.

Sentiment was also supported after President Donald Trump said overnight that a trade deal with China could be struck soon. "Following yesterday's positive session in the U.S., there seems to be a bit more optimism, but it's pretty fragile," Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said Trump's claim that a deal with China could arrive sooner than people think was outweighing any other "destabilising factors" surrounding his presidency. The mid-cap FTSE 250 rose after three consecutive sessions of losses and was up 0.5% by 0755 GMT, with sterling steady, though the Brexit malaise showed no signs of easing up.

China's positive comments helped the blue-chip index offset a drop in tobacco stocks Imperial Brands and BAT , which shed 10% and 3% respectively, after the blu e-cigarette maker cut annual sales and profit view. "Though the market will focus on poorer NGP performance, the situation in the U.S. appears industry related rather than company specific," Jefferies analysts said.

Education company Pearson slid almost 16% to its lowest since March 2018 after saying full-year profit would be at the bottom of its guided range. British Airways owner IAG completed the trifecta of profit warnings, as it dipped more than 3% after blaming pilot strikes for an expected 215 million euros shortfall in annual profit.

Thursday's profit warnings from the three blue-chip firms wiped off more than roughly 5 billion pounds in market value from the index after just half an hour of trading.

Also Read: US President Donald Trump arrives at the NRG stadium for 'Howdy, Modi' event.