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FTSE 100 up 1.2%, closes near 10,000 mark

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AstraZeneca ( AZN ) hits record high

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UK unemployment rises to 5%, highest in four years

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Vodafone ( VOD ) shares climb after strong German performance

(Updates at market close)

By Utkarsh Hathi

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 closed at a record

high for the second straight session on Tuesday, as weak UK

labour market data boosted hopes for Bank of England rate cuts

and drugmaker AstraZeneca ( AZN ) hit an all-time high.

The blue-chip index ended up 1.2% at 9,899.6 points,

while the mid-cap FTSE 250 gained 0.8%.

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) rose 2.6% to solidify its position as Britain's

largest listed stock by market value, building on momentum from

last week's forecast-beating quarterly results.

Expectations for a BoE rate cut in December were bolstered

by clear signs of cooling in Britain's labour market, with

unemployment increasing to 5%, the highest in four years, and

wage growth continued to slow.

"There's more slack building in the labour market - and

perhaps more so than assumed by the MPC (the BoE's Monetary

Policy Committee) in its November projections; and two, pay

momentum continues to slow. Both should be encouraging for the

MPC," said Deutsche Bank's chief economist Sanjay Raja.

The pound initially fell against the dollar following the

data, before stabilising to trade nearly flat.

In equities, the pharma and healthcare

indexes both gained more than 2.5%, as

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) was joined by GSK rising 3%, while consumer

healthcare group Haleon ( HLN ) climbed 3.2%.

Among energy companies, Shell rose 2.2% to its

highest in more than a year, while BP gained 2.6%, buoyed

by higher oil prices due to U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.

Vodafone ( VOD ) jumped 8.3% to a more-than two-year high

after a strong performance in Germany helped the company to

raise its annual profit forecast and lift dividends for the

first time in eight years.

Scientific tools maker Oxford Instruments ( OXINF ) surged

14.9%, its biggest single-day gain in nearly four years, on

improved order momentum.

On the downside, food supplier Hilton Food ( HLTFF ) slumped

22.7% to a ten-year low after it warned that profit growth was

likely to be challenging in the next financial year.