Last checked at 
(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
* Investors hopeful of potential COVID-19 vaccine
* Upper Crust owner SSP falls on proposed restructuring
* Mall operator Hammerson jumps on liquidity boost
* FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 up 0.4%
(Updates to close, adds comments)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
July 1 (Reuters) - London's mid-cap index ended higher on
Wednesday on hopes of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, while
optimism over fresh stimulus and a pickup in economic activity
in the second half of the year persisted.
A COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and
German biotech firm BioNTech showed promise and was
found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials.
"The turning point appeared to be some vaccine news, an
element of the pandemic saga that has been missing from the last
couple of weeks," said Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at
Spreadex.
The domestically focussed FTSE 250 was up 0.4% after
closing Tuesday with its best quarter in eight years, partly on
the back of historic global monetary and fiscal stimulus. The
export-heavy FTSE 100, however, edged 0.1% lower at the
end of a choppy session.
The FTSE 100 has rallied about 25% and the FTSE 250 about
39% since crashing to multi-year lows in March.
Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane said on Tuesday
recent signs suggested Britain was on course for a V-shaped
recovery, although he warned of risks of high and persistent
unemployment.
Data on Wednesday showed the downturn in euro zone
manufacturing in June was not as bad as initially feared, while
UK figures confirmed that manufacturing activity expanded
slightly last month.
"While the PMIs are still considerably below their
pre-crisis levels, they have rebounded more swiftly than they
did during the financial crisis," said Gabriella Dickens,
assistant economist at Capital Economics.
Upper Crust owner SSP dropped 2.6% after saying it
could cut about 5,000 jobs in a proposed restructuring of its UK
business.
Mall operator Hammerson jumped 6.5% as it said it
had received approval for the issuance of up to 300 million
pounds ($371.31 million) under the government's Covid Corporate
Financing Facility (CCFF).
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard
Orr, Sherry Jacob-Phillips, William Maclean)
