London midday: Stocks drift lower as investors digest Covid tiers
London stocks were off earlier lows but still a little weaker by midday on Friday as investors mulled the economic impact of coronavirus restrictions following news on England’s post-lockdown tiers.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 6,342.45, with US markets due to open later for just a half day, having been closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "This end of week caution appears to be predicated on concern over the short-term economic outlook, as the extension of tighter restrictions on economic activity in France, Germany and the UK creates further uncertainty over the potential for permanent economic scarring as we head into 2021.
"The vaccine story is undoubtedly good news, however there is some concern as to what the economic landscape will look like when we come out of the other side of winter.
"This has seen early weakness in the likes of travel and leisure stocks, with IAG, easyJet, International Hotels Group, Whitbread and Cineworld all slipping a little in early trade."
Hewson said the new tiered restrictions announced for England on Thursday "weren’t good news for the hospitality sector" after most of the nation was placed into tier 2 or tier 3 for the period leading up to Christmas.
Brexit was also in focus, with face-to-face talks due to resume at the weekend.
IG said: "Michel Barnier is heading to London in a bid to help break the deadlock in Brexit talks today, with just five-weeks to overcome a seemingly insurmountable fish-shaped wall in negotiations.
"Unfortunately, the evident desire to reach a deal from both sides has not been matched by a willingness to compromise, and thus there is little to indicate we will overcome the final hurdles. The issues of fishing right, state aid, and future dispute resolution remain a trio of hurdles which remain the three major sticking points which could ultimately lead the UK out of the EU without a deal."
In equity markets, housebuilders were under the cosh, with Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey all lower.
Wetherspoons lost ground after the pub said half of its pubs would remain closed under the UK government's tiered system when the national lockdown ends on December 2. The company, headed by outspoken chief executive Tim Martin, said 366 pubs would be shut and accused the government of extending lockdown "by stealth".
Opioid addiction treatment maker Indivior tumbled after saying it had been made aware of a £1bn claim made against it by consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser. Indivior was spun off from Reckitt in 2014.
Elsewhere, Marks & Spencer was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,342.45 -0.32%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,233.52 -0.84%
techMARK (TASX) 3,921.57 -0.02%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,123.00p 3.17%
Sage Group (SGE) 608.00p 1.43%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 402.80p 1.24%
Schroders (SDR) 3,216.00p 1.23%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 335.10p 1.21%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,094.00p 0.74%
Diageo (DGE) 2,949.50p 0.72%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 470.00p 0.71%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,731.00p 0.67%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,607.00p 0.55%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 611.80p -2.73%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,045.00p -2.06%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,634.00p -2.05%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 155.35p -1.99%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,402.00p -1.96%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,301.00p -1.83%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,424.00p -1.74%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 161.80p -1.73%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 256.00p -1.73%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 719.00p -1.72%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 417.00p 4.67%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,455.00p 4.03%
Avon Rubber (AVON) 4,400.00p 3.29%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,470.00p 2.82%
888 Holdings (888) 275.50p 2.04%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 526.20p 1.94%
Carnival (CCL) 1,361.00p 1.80%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 259.00p 1.37%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 299.80p 1.22%
Meggitt (MGGT) 399.30p 1.17%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Indivior (INDV) 83.80p -32.64%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 527.00p -3.83%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 289.60p -3.72%
BMO Commercial Property Trust Limited (BCPT) 71.30p -3.52%
UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 68.60p -3.52%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,460.00p -3.34%
Sabre Insurance Group (SBRE) 248.50p -3.31%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 205.00p -3.30%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 79.60p -3.16%
Marshalls (MSLH) 699.00p -3.12%