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* AstraZeneca marks worst day in nearly six months
* UK aims to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine before Christmas
* Cineworld jumps on securing additional debt
(Updates to close)
By Devik Jain and Ambar Warrick
Nov 23 (Reuters) - British stocks rose on optimism over a
COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, although gains in the FTSE index
were curbed by a fall in shares of AstraZeneca after the
drugmaker's candidate was less effective than others in trials.
The mid cap index added 0.4%, while the FTSE 100
fell 0.3%, with AstraZeneca marking its worst
day in nearly six months with a 3.8% fall.
AstraZeneca said the average efficacy of its vaccine, which
is being developed with the University of Oxford, was at 70% in
its late-stage trial.
Although the British drugmaker said its potential vaccine
can be 90% effective, its average rate was lower than for
Pfizer-BioNTech's and Moderna's,
which showed efficacy rates of about 94% to 95%.
"Even though the late stage trials were better than
expected, AstraZeneca’s shares didn’t get a booster shot,"
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst,
Hargreaves Lansdown, said of the news.
"It has though added to the overall positivity washing
around the financial markets about a faster end to the
pandemic."
Britain's health minister said the country aims to roll out
a COVID-19 vaccine before Christmas and ease restrictions next
month, raising hopes of a sooner-than expected recovery and
boosting consumer stocks.
While positive vaccine-related headlines have helped British
stocks gain this month, they have still underperformed global
peers due to uncertainty over Brexit negotiations, as the end of
year deadline for a trade deal looms.
While data showed that British business activity contracted
in November due to a new wave of coronavirus lockdowns, news of
possible vaccines sharply boosted hopes for 2021.
In corporate news, Cineworld Group jumped nearly
20% after it secured waivers for its debt covenants until June
2022, along with $450 million in new loans.
(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb
Chakrabarty and Alexander Smith)
