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FTSE 100, FTSE 250 nearly flat

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UK consumer price inflation eases to 3.6% in October

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WH Smith ( WHTPF ) gains after CEO exits

Nov 19 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 was little changed

on Wednesday, after falling for four consecutive sessions, as

gains in healthcare and consumer staples kept the market afloat,

while a slowdown in inflation lifted hopes for a December rate

cut.

The blue-chip index was down 0.07% as of 12:40 GMT,

while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 0.07%.

UK inflation slowed down for the first time in October since

May, offering relief to the government before next week's annual

budget and boosting the chance of a rate cut by the Bank of

England.

Markets are pricing in about 86% odds of a quarter-point

reduction in December.

"MPC officials will, of course, still be glued to the

details of next week's Autumn Budget, but assuming it's as

tax-heavy and unfriendly to growth as we expect, a December rate

cut seems to be a fairly safe bet," said Matthew Ryan, head of

Market Strategy at global financial services firm Ebury.

Supporting this outlook, a Reuters poll showed a majority of

economists now expect a rate cut in December and again early

next year.

Consumer-related stocks such as Unilever ( UL ) and

British American Tobacco ( BTI ) contributed to FTSE 100's

rise, with both gaining about 1%.

Heavyweight AstraZeneca ( AZN ) was up 0.8% and the broader

pharma sector advanced 0.5%.

Industrial metal miners were up 0.3%, while

precious metal miners gained 4.7% after gold

prices climbed over 1% on risk aversion ahead of key U.S. data.

In UK markets, banking stocks dropped 0.4%,

on track for a fifth consecutive session of decline.

Aerospace and defence stocks were down 2%

with BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce falling 2.6%

and 0.8%, respectively.

Household goods and construction sector fell

0.7%. Data from the government showed that house prices had the

smallest annual rise in September since May.

Among individual movers, WH Smith ( WHTPF ) gained 5.2% after

the travel retailer said Carl Cowling had stepped down as CEO

following an independent review, which revealed accounting

failures in the U.S. operations.

Sage's shares climbed 3.3% after the software

company reported better-than-expected annual operating profit.