London midday: Stocks in the red amid vaccine worries

London stocks were still firmly in the red by midday on Friday as worries about the Covid-19 vaccine rollout and Reddit-fuelled market chaos knocked sentiment.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.8% at 6,472.74.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "The Reddit revolution has done a number on the European and US markets, scaring investors away from the message board-led volatility.

"Of course, it’s not the GameStop saga alone. The vaccine rollout process in Europe has hit a confidence-undermining road bump this week, with the public spat between the UK, EU and AstraZeneca, while an end to lockdown in the UK appears nowhere in sight.

"It is telling how risk-off investors are feeling this Friday that news the Novavax covid-19 vaccine is nearly 90% effective - including against the UK variant - failed to induce the same dose of optimism as previous announcements of its kind."

In equity markets, housebuilders were under pressure, with Barratt and Berkeley both lower, while engine maker Rolls-Royce also lost ground.

Prudential was down for the second day running after it announced on Thursday that it was planning to demerge its US business and considering a $3bn capital riase.

Trainline was hit by a downgrade to ‘underweight’ at Barclays.

On the upside, Evraz nudged higher after it said steel production rose 7.4% in the fourth quarter as its Russian plant increased activity after repairs and volumes improved in North America.

Polymetal was also a touch firmer after its full-year production beats forecasts, although it also warned over higher costs.

Just Eat Takeaway and Ocado, which have benefited from Covid restrictions and lockdowns, were among the top gainers on the FTSE 100.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,472.74 -0.82%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,282.81 -0.42%
techMARK (TASX) 4,085.46 -0.29%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,006.50p 2.41%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,204.00p 1.91%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 3,572.00p 1.71%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,989.00p 1.01%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,809.00p 0.97%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 3,736.00p 0.67%
Glencore (GLEN) 250.35p 0.66%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 504.80p 0.60%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,306.20p 0.55%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 369.30p 0.54%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Barratt Developments (BDEV) 644.00p -3.01%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 94.36p -2.66%
Prudential (PRU) 1,203.50p -2.63%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 245.30p -2.27%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 761.20p -2.26%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,203.00p -2.23%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 386.65p -2.20%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,524.00p -1.97%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,178.00p -1.94%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 32.84p -1.90%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 222.00p 6.12%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 389.50p 4.85%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 447.50p 4.53%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 302.50p 3.60%
Genus (GNS) 4,892.00p 3.25%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,359.00p 2.57%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 292.50p 2.45%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,204.00p 1.91%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 181.60p 1.85%
Drax Group (DRX) 377.80p 1.83%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Trainline (TRN) 394.40p -6.36%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 191.00p -4.21%
SSP Group (SSPG) 295.00p -4.03%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,555.00p -3.72%
Provident Financial (PFG) 249.20p -3.11%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,325.00p -2.92%
Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 2,175.00p -2.90%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,154.00p -2.78%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 350.30p -2.78%
Beazley (BEZ) 301.60p -2.77%