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* UK demands AstraZeneca to deliver ordered vaccines
* Car output falls to lowest level since 1984
* Prudential drops on demerger and equity raise plans
* FTSE 100 falls 0.6%, FTSE 250 adds 0.4%
(Updates to close)
By Shashank Nayar and Amal S
Jan 28 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 hit a near one-month
low on Thursday as energy stocks tracked commodity prices lower
following virus and lockdown-led demand worries, while the
vaccine row between the European Union and AstraZeneca Plc
continued to weigh.
AstraZeneca was the second biggest drag on the FTSE
100 index as Britain demanded it must receive all the COVID-19
vaccines it had ordered, while the EU warned drug companies that
it would use all legal means or even block exports unless they
agreed to deliver shots as promised.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.6% with insurer
Prudential being the top drag after it said it would
separate its U.S. business Jackson through a demerger and may
raise $2.5 billion to $3 billion in new equity.
"It's a very speculative bubble of a market that has
definitely led to people suggesting for a pullback," said Keith
Temperton, an equity sales trader at Forte Securities.
"So, in my view, it's a long overdue pullback and nothing to
be alarmed about particularly, but rather just an expected
market reaction for London."
Higher virus cases and lockdowns led the UK to its biggest
rise in vacant shops in over two decades, while car output fell
to its lowest level since 1984.
The export-heavy FTSE 100 has recorded consistent monthly
gains since Novemeber, but recently lost steam as rising cases
and lockdowns led British households to cut expenses while the
proportion of workers on furlough rose to its highest since
July.
British airline easyJet gained 4.6% even as it warned that
its prospect had worsened for the January-March quarter.
London-listed shares of Hungarian airline Wizz Air
jumped 4.7% after it vowed to use the coronavirus crisis to grab
business from rivals including easyJet.
Miner Anglo American slipped 3.9% after it trimmed
its 2021 production outlook for diamonds, but it kept output
targets for most other metals unchanged.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V and Richard Chang)
