UK's FTSE 100 up as banks gain, oil prices steady

Sept 23 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 inched higher on Wednesday, with heavyweight banks stocks leading gains as focus remained on any developments regarding a Middle East peace deal while crude oil prices were held near a recent low.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 0.17% to 10,726.56 points by 0946 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC slipped 0.24%.

• US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran in New York had made progress, but then threatened to "annihilate" the country if a deal was not reached.

• Oil prices meanwhile held near their lowest in more than two weeks, kept in check by improving Gulf crude supplies and growing hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the US-Israeli war on Iran. UK's energy sector however .FTNMX601010 climbed 0.8%.

• Heavyweight banks .FTNMX301010 rebounded after falling over 1% in the last session with HSBC HSBA.L and Standard Chartered STAN.L adding 0.9% and 1.3% respectively.

• Pharma stocks .FTNMX201030 were a drag, down 0.9% with FTSE heavyweight AstraZeneca AZN.L down 1.1%.

• British engineering firm Renishaw RSW.L rose 3.7% to a more than five-year high after reporting better-than-expected annual adjusted pretax profit.

• JD Sports JD.L slid 3.8% after the Sports and fashion retailer reported a 19.7% drop in first-half profit, hurt by weakness in its key North American market, becoming the top loser in the index.

• Clean energy technology developer Ceres Power CWR.L gained 1.7% after it posts a 8% growth in half-year revenue from a year ago.

• Pollen Street POLNP.L has explored options, including a potential sale, as the London-listed private capital firm looks to scale up its asset management business, two sources said to Reuters. Pollen Street surged 17.1%, becoming the top gainer in the mid-cap index.

• A survey showed that growth in British business activity cooled this month and inflation pressure built, an awkward backdrop for finance minister John Healey ahead of his first budget next month.

• Financial markets pointed to a more than 66% chance that the Bank of England will raise interest rates on November, the week after Healey delivers his October budget.