UPDATE 1-UK stocks notch second monthly gain in a row
Updates to market close
May 29 (Reuters) - UK indexes marked a second straight month of gains on Friday, buoyed by hopes that the U.S. and Iran were nearing a deal to extend their ceasefire.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE ended down 0.2% and posted monthly gains of around 0.3%. The midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC gained 0.4% on the day and 4.3% for May.
Shares of Ocado OCDO.L soared 7.1% after supermarket group Asda struck a deal with the technology firm to overhaul its online business across the UK.
Oil prices slipped nearly 2% after the U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to extend a ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters. O/R
President Donald Trump said he would make a final decision on Friday.
Shares of oil majors Shell SHEL.L and BP BP.L were mixed. A broader gauge of British energy stocks .FTNMX601010 posted its biggest monthly drop in a year, as crude prices eased.
Hopes of de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict and easing bets on UK interest rate hikes have buoyed domestic stocks over the past two weeks.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said that allowing inflation to run above the central bank's 2% target is justified given the economic uncertainty and reiterated that the BoE had tightened monetary policy by taking rate cuts off the table.
Money market bets show traders are pricing in at least one 25 bps interest rate hike this year and see a 28% chance of another such move, down from 50% probability earlier this week.
Shares in UK retailers B&M BMEB.L, Currys CURY.L, Dunelm DNLM.L, Wickes Group WIX.L dipped in the range of 0.9% and 2.4% after Deutsche Bank downgraded their ratings, citing weaker consumer spending and confidence.
