*

FTSE 100 up 0.4%, FTSE 250 adds 0.6%

*

eazyJet jumps on improved winter performance

*

Hipgnosis Songs Fund ( HPGSF ) surges on $1.4 billion buyout

(Updated at 1550 GMT)

By Pranav Kashyap, Khushi Singh and Shubham Batra

April 18 (Reuters) - British equities recovered for a

second straight session on Thursday supported by positive

corporate updates, while the pound firmed against the dollar as

traders lowered their expectations of any early rate cut by the

Bank of England.

The benchmark FTSE 100 rose 0.4% for the day but

underperformed its European peers.

The FTSE 250 midcap index snapped its five-day

losing streak to gain 0.6%, driven by a 30.5% surge in Hipgnosis

Songs Fund ( HPGSF ) after Concord Chorus said it would acquire

the music investor for $1.4 billion.

The pound appreciated by 0.2% against the dollar and

was last trading at 1.246, while the 10-year UK bond yield

ticked slightly higher to 4.273.

BoE policymaker Megan Greene said Britain's latest wage

growth and services price inflation data is too high for the UK

central bank to consider cutting interest rates.

Traders expect the BoE to cut interest rates by 44 basis

points this year, with the first cut expected only in September.

Among the biggest movers on the FTSE 100, easyJet

rose 2.3% after the airline's winter performance improved on

growing demand and it said summer bookings were building well.

"What could have been an even weaker-than-usual winter

update affected by disruption to flights in the Middle East

ended up being saved by Easter, encouraging holidaymakers to jet

off to catch some spring sunshine even if temperatures weren't

quite what they would usually be," said Adam Vettese, analyst at

investment platform eToro.

National Grid climbed 1.7%, leading gains in the

utilities sector, after the energy utility upgraded its 2023/24

profit guidance.

Deliveroo ( DROOF ) advanced 4.5% after the meal deliverer

returned to order growth in the first quarter.

Rentokil fell 7.6%, the bottom performer on FTSE

100, after the pest control company announced its first-quarter

trading updates.

The broader industrial support services index

led sectoral declines, dipping 1.8%.