London stocks post weekly gains as gilt yields retreat; telecom stocks fall

Oct 9 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Friday and capped a volatile week with modest gains as a retreat in gilt yields helped sentiment, while telecom stocks fell after SpaceX's acquisition of low-band spectrum rattled the sector.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 1% to 10,552.05, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 1.1%.

• Oil prices eased earlier in the session after US President Donald Trump said Washington would not attack Iran before next month's US midterm elections, amid what he described as productive talks to end a war that has disrupted global energy markets [O/R]

• Brent crude futures were last flat at $104.35

• British government bond yields retreated, with 10- and 30-year gilt yields <GB10YT=RR> easing after hitting fresh multi-decade highs earlier this week

• For the week, the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 posted 0.9% and 0.1% rises, respectively, recovering from volatile trading driven by higher oil prices and renewed concerns over inflation, borrowing costs and the outlook for interest rates

• Shares in Airtel Money fell 5.6%, below their offer price on Friday, in a muted start to trading for the African mobile money service after a heavily oversubscribed initial public offering

• Telecom stocks were among the biggest decliners after SpaceX's deal to acquire a nationwide portfolio of low-band spectrum licences, paving the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major US telecom operator

• Vodafone, Airtel Africa and BT Group fell between 2.4% and 6.3%, making them the FTSE 100's weakest performers

• On the FTSE 250, SSP Group, owner of the Upper Crust chain, fell 4% after forecasting annual operating profit slightly below its previous expectations

• Morgan Advanced Materials <MGAMM.L> rose 9.4% after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the chip-components supplier and lifted its price target, citing the potential sale of its Thermal Products unit and greater exposure to higher-margin aerospace and defence markets

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens)