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(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 pulled back on Thursday but losses were contained as traders remain hopeful the Omicron variant will prove milder than previous coronavirus waves.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 17.68 points, or 0.2%, at 7,403.01. The FTSE 250 ended up 22.28 points, or 0.1%, at 23,539.55, and the AIM All-Share closed up 8.68 points, or 0.7%, at 1,210.48.
The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.2% at 734.65, the Cboe UK 250 closed flat at 20,934.43, and the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.1% at 15,267.74.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.2%. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.2% at 15,884.86 in its last session for 2021, notching a year-to-date gain of 16%.
European stocks traded mostly higher despite the World Health Organisation warning that a Covid "tsunami" threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems.
Governments are walking a tightrope between anti-virus restrictions and the need to keep societies and economies open, as the highly transmissible variant drove cases to levels never seen before in the US, UK, France and Denmark.
The variant has already started to overwhelm some hospitals in the US, the hardest-hit nation where the seven-day average of new cases hit 265,427, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker. But there was some hope as data indicated a decoupling of the number of cases and hospitalisations.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson meanwhile defended his decision not to clamp down on festivities over the holidays, saying around 90% of Covid patients in intensive care had not received a vaccine booster.
The number of people in hospital with the coronavirus topped 10,000 in England, the highest total since March, as Britain on Wednesday reported a new record of 183,037 daily cases.
"The pandemic has taken many twists and turns in the past two years, but ultimately the fear comes from the possibility of restrictions being imposed, and for the time being, it doesn't seem as if governments are close to taking action that could cause major disruption to economies...Today, the mood is a little muted, but indices are still at elevated levels," said David Madden, a market analyst at Equiti Capital.
And positively, Johnson & Johnson reported its Covid-19 vaccine works well in warding off severe illness from the Omicron strain. A South African study showed a J&J booster shot demonstrated 85% effectiveness against hospitalisation when Omicron is the dominant variant.
Shares in J&J were up 0.5% in New York on Thursday.
Wall Street moved cautiously higher, with the Dow Jones up 0.1%, the S&P 500 index up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.5%.
The dollar was mixed after data showed new jobless claims in the US fell during the Christmas week. For the week that ended December 25, US initial jobless claims were 198,000, down on the revised figure of 206,000 the week before.
Market consensus, according to FXStreet, had predicted 205,000 claims.
The 4-week moving average was 199,250, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average. The US government noted this is the lowest level for this average since October 1969 when it was 199,250.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3495 at the London equities close Thursday, up compared to USD1.3476 at the close on Wednesday.
However, the euro fell to USD1.1322 at the European equities close Thursday from USD1.1346 at the same time on Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY115.14, up compared to JPY114.95 late Wednesday.
Brent oil was quoted at USD79.20 a barrel at the London equities close Thursday, rising from USD78.22 late Wednesday.
Gold was quoted at USD1,811.44 an ounce at the London equities close, up against USD1,802.90 at the close on Wednesday.
In London, gambling firms led the FTSE 100 higher, with Flutter Entertainment ended up 3.3% and Entain up 1.9%.
Towards the bottom of the index was housebuilder Berkeley Group, closing down 1.5% despite figures from Nationwide showing the UK housing sector rounded off a strong year with more double-digit price growth.
In December, house prices rose 10% on a yearly basis, in line with November's surge. Monthly, prices climbed 1.0% in December to an average of GBP254,822, following growth of 0.9% in November.
Nationwide analyst Robert Gardner said it was the strongest year for UK house prices since 2006. In cash terms, 2021 saw the largest single year house price hike.
Peers Persimmon and Barratt Developments fell 0.8% and 0.6% respectively.
Elsewhere in London, shares in Eurasia Mining rose 5.9%. The Russia-focused mining and mineral exploration company said it was progressing its strategy within the hydrogen and ammonia markets following the securing of a number of agreements set to aid project development.
Eurasia said it had signed a joint venture agreement with H4Energy Joint-Stock Co to develop hydrogen and ammonia projects at its Kola and Sakhalin projects. An agreement had also been signed with State Far East and Arctic Development Corporation for the procurement of land and energy supplies in relation to the projects, Eurasia Mining added.
UniVision Engineering shares fell 12% after reporting that a dispute with a subcontractor held back progress on a major contract, resulting in higher costs that more than halved profits.
For the six months that ended September 30, UniVision reported that pretax profit dropped 64% to GBP142,000 from GB394,000. The Hong Kong-based CCTV and surveillance system company said that a dispute with a subcontractor over the value of work related to its Mass Transit Railway Corp contract was responsible for the fall.
The UK corporate calendar on Friday has a trading statement from Supply@Me.
Friday's economic calendar has PMIs from China out overnight. Markets in Japan and Germany are closed on Friday for New Year's Eve, while the London and Paris stock exchanges will shut early.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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