(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window) * FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 off 0.1% March 9 (Reuters) - London’s FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday after a solid start to the week, as a stronger pound pressured exporters, while data showed a nationwide lockdown hurt consumer spending in February. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.2%, dragged down by mining stocks, including Rio Tinto, Anglo American and BHP, falling between 2.6% and 3.5%. Bank stocks, HSBC Holdings, Lloyds Banking group , and Barclays Plc were also among the laggards. British consumers cut back heavily on spending as they spent a second month in a COVID-19 lockdown in February but confidence in the economy hit a 12-month high, payment card firm Barclaycard said. The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index fell 0.1%, led by declines in communication services stocks. World’s largest inter-dealer broker TP ICAP Plc fell 2.7%, after it halved its dividend citing a one-off reduction, and said first-quarter revenue might be lower compared to 2020. Cairn Energy slumped 7.0%, after agreeing to sell its interests in the UK Catcher and Kraken oil fields in the North Sea to Waldorf Production Ltd for $460 million in cash.