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* UK's coronavirus crisis could return -chief medical
adviser
* Burberry drops even after robust sales
* GSK gains on successful late-stage trials of its anaemia
drug
* FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 off 0.2%
(Updates to close)
By Amal S
July 16 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended lower on Friday,
as weakness in miners and warnings about a surge in coronavirus
infection offset optimism around economic re-opening, and the
index posted a weekly loss on flagging travel and energy stocks.
After rising as much as 0.6%, the blue-chip FTSE 100 index
fell 0.1%, with base and precious metal
miners down 2.8% and 1.8% respectively, while
banks dropped 1.7%.
The British government's chief medical adviser said
England's coronavirus crisis could return again surprisingly
quickly and the country is not yet out of the woods, as
infections surged ahead of the lifting of legal restrictions.
"In the morning we saw a sort of initial optimism with
travel companies thinking about potential gains from reopening.
Now investors will be looking at the number of cases after the
warning from the chief medical officer," said Danni Hewson,
financial analyst at AJ Bell.
"They'll also be looking at the number of businesses that
may have to limit production or shut down entirely because their
workforce is being forced to isolate and it just got the UK
economy on the backfoot."
The FTSE 100 has gained 8.4% so far this year on support
from cheap interest rates, but higher-than-expected inflation
levels, hawkish central bank comments and a jump in local
coronavirus infections have slowed the rise of the blue-chip
index.
The index ended the week 1.6% lower, its worst week in
nearly a month, led by a 5.97% weekly drop in travel stocks
and 5.14% fall in energy stocks.
The domestically-focussed mid-cap index fell 0.2%,
dragged down by industrial stocks.
Among stocks, Burberry dropped 5% and was the worst
performer on the FTSE 100 index, even after it said its
like-for-like sales had risen above pre-pandemic levels, driven
by new, younger customers and demand for handbags and trench
coats.
GlaxoSmithKline gained 1.3% after the drugmaker said
its anaemia drug for patients with kidney disease succeeded in
late-stage trials.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Amal S in Bengaluru; editing
by Uttaresh.V)