BUZZ-IMI: top FTSE 350 industrials gainer on H1 beat, FX benefit

** British engineer IMI (LSE: IMI.L - news) 's up 3 pct, top gainer on the FTSE 350 Industrial Engineering Index & touches its highest since Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news)

** Says modest positive currency impact from Brexit, as it gets less than 6 pct of its sales from the UK

** Co reports fall in H1 pretax profit to 86 mln stg, from 107 mln stg a yr earlier

** Jefferies says co's H1 profit slightly ahead of brokerage's expectations of 85.6 mln stg, currency movements to drive mid-single digit consensus upgrades

** Up to Thursday's close, stock had risen about 20 pct YTD vs 1 pct fall in FTSE 250 index

** About 30% of 30-day avg vol through in less than 1 hr on stock, which is also among top 10 UK midcap gainers (Other OTC: UBGXF - news)