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* HSBC Holdings jumps on upbeat profit, $3 billion buyback

* Hargreaves Lansdown climbs on seeing good momentum in April

* FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.2%

April 30 (Reuters) - Britain's stock indexes rose on Tuesday and were set for their second monthly gain, driven by optimism over upbeat corporate earnings, while HSBC climbed after strong quarterly results and share buyback plans offset news about its CEO's departure.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, as of 0812 GMT, hovering just below its all-time highs hit a day earlier. The index appeared poised to mark monthly gains of about 2.7%, if current trend holds.

Shares of HSBC Holdings gained 2.7% after the Asia-focussed bank announced a better-than-expected pretax profit, $3 billion worth of share buybacks and its CEO Noel Quinn's retirement.

"The market is reasonably relaxed and taking the view that there's a chance that pivot to Asia may accelerate with the successor, which the bank has a history of promoting from within," said Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro.

Standard Chartered rose 1.2%.

Limiting gains in the blue-chip index, insurer Prudential fell 4.5% after its annual premium equivalent sales for CITIC Prudential Life, its Chinese Mainland joint venture, slumped 17% in the first quarter.

Global investors are anxiously awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday to see if the U.S. central bank turns more hawkish.

"If interest rate cuts are on the horizon both in the UK and Europe and they're coming before the U.S., that's going to be a pretty big catalyst to continue to build on this rally," said Laidler.

Prices in British shops rose at the slowest pace in more than two years this month, the British Retail Consortium said, adding to signs of easing inflationary pressures that will be welcomed by the Bank of England.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 edged 0.2% higher to trade at its highest in more than one year, after the index breached the 20,000 mark in the previous session.

The biggest boost came from Hargreaves Lansdown, which jumped 6.2%, after the investment platform saw good momentum in April as clients invested at the start of the tax year to claim more benefits.

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)