British stocks fall on COVID-19 risks; Signature Aviation, JD Sports surge (updated)

Bell Food AG

11/01/2021 16:53

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    * Signature Aviation surges 7% on takeover deal
    * Next few weeks of the pandemic will be the worst - Whitty
    * JD Sports jumps on higher full year profit forecast
    * FTSE 100 down 1.1%, FTSE 250 drops 1.4%

 (Updates to close)
    By Shashank Nayar
    Jan 11 (Reuters) - London stocks ended lower on Monday as
rising coronavirus cases across Europe stoked worries about its
near-term economic impact, while Signature Aviation jumped on
reaching an agreement for a takeover deal with Global
Infrastructure Partners.
    The blue-chip FTSE 100 index  .FTSE  fell 1.1%, after
gaining for five consecutive sessions, with auto  .FTNMX3350 
healthcare  .FTNMX4530  and mining stocks  .FTNMX1770  leading
the declines.
    Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain was in "a race
against time" to roll out vaccines as deaths hit record highs
and hospitals ran out of oxygen. His top medical adviser Chris
Whitty said the pandemic's worst weeks were imminent.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2JM1BA
    Miners Rio Tinto  RIO.L  and BHP Group  BHPB.L  were the top
drags on the index, as metal prices dropped on demand worries
fueled by surging coronavirus cases in top metals consumer
China.  METL/ 
    "COVID-19 risks have taken centerstage again after last
week's rally and the only reason why the FTSE 100 has not fallen
further today is because the pound has taken most of the heat,"
said Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx.
    The British pound  GBP=  dropped 0.5% against the U.S.
dollar to its lowest level since Dec. 29 due to concerns about
the spread of the virus in the country, while global cases of
COVID-19 surpassed 90 million.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JM0F0  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2C60GZ
    The mid-cap index  .FTMC  ended 1.4% lower, led by weakness
in consumer stocks, while JD Sports was the top gainer on the
index after it forecast its full-year profit to be
"significantly ahead" of market expectations.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JM1D7
    “It demonstrates the fact that retail spending itself has
held up reasonably well despite the crisis – it’s just that
sales have shifted from physical stores to the internet," said
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. 
     Signature Aviation  SIGSI.L  jumped 7.2% after Global
Infrastructure Partners, the former owner of London's Gatwick
Airport, reached an agreement to buy the company for about $4.63
billion, trumping an approach from Blackstone Group  BX.N .
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JM19T

 (Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V and David Gregorio)
 ((Shashank.Nayar@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223
8780; outside U.S. +91 80 6182 2256;))
 
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