Last checked at 
(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* EU's von der Leyen to call Johnson on Saturday
* EasyJet falls on scaling back of flying capacity
* All eyes on U.S. presidential election
* FTSE 100 up 0.1%, FTSE 250 falls 0.1%
(Adds comment; updates to close)
By Devik Jain
Nov 6 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 inched up on Friday,
although gains were limited by concerns over surging coronavirus
cases and a Brexit-trade deal, while investors waited for the
outcome of a close U.S. presidential election race.
After trading as much as 0.8% in either direction, the
blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.1% higher, helped by
mining and food and drug retailer
stocks but with a stronger pound weighing.
The domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index
ended 0.1% lower, with shares in James Fisher and Sons
tumbling 25.7% after a disappointing trading update.
U.S. Democrat Joe Biden took the lead over U.S. President
Donald Trump in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and
Georgia for the first time on Friday, putting him on the verge
of winning the White House.
"The markets are taking this with a pinch of salt and
perceive Biden's lead to be significant enough that any
challenge won't be taken seriously or won't be enough to change
the market," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
"We've seen four really strong days of gains and are just
seeing a little bit of profit taking."
Both the indexes logged their best weekly gain since early
June as the British government and the Bank of England ramped up
stimulus measures to support an economy facing the impact of a
second nation-wide lockdown.
New COVID-19 infections in England have stabilised at around
50,000 a day, according to an ONS survey, but the reproduction
"R" number was unchanged at between 1.1-1.3, suggesting the
epidemic had continued to grow in recent weeks.
Post-Brexit trade deal talks were also in focus with the
European Commission President set to call British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson on Saturday to discuss the negotiations.
EasyJet Plc fell 2.6% after further scaling back its
already reduced flying capacity due to new lockdowns, while
Aviva Plc gained 2.1% after German peer Allianz SE
reported an unexpected rise in quarterly net
profit..
(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V,
Aditya Soni and Kirsten Donovan)
