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* Standard Chartered fined $61.51 mln for regulatory lapses
* Oil, metal prices fall as Omicron fuels demand worries
* FTSE 100 down 1.0%, FTSE 250 off 1.0%
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar
Dec 20 (Reuters) - UK shares tracked a slide in global
equity markets on Monday as concerns around a surge in cases of
the Omicron coronavirus variant in Europe and the United States
dented investor sentiment.
After falling to a two-week low in early trading, the
blue-chip FTSE 100 index recouped some early declines to
end 1.0% lower.
"There are not a lot of reasons to be optimistic as we head
to the end of the year," said Michael Hewson, chief market
analyst at CMC Markets.
"A lot of people are done for the year. So, there is not
much in the way of buyers out there. Concerns about Omicron, not
just across Europe but globally, with all the talks of a
lockdown, is not a great environment to buy shares.
"Along with this is the fact that Joe mentioned that he is
not going to back the U.S. infrastructure plan," Hewson said
while referring to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin.
Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell fell
nearly 3% each after crude prices dropped 3%, while industrial
metal miners lost 1.9% due to weakness in copper
prices.
Asia-exposed financial stocks like lender HSBC and
insurance firm Prudential slid 0.8% and 4.5%
respectively.
The domestically focused mid-cap index fell 1.0%,
with the travel and leisure sector leading the
declines with a 0.7% drop.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index has underperformed the
blue-chip FTSE 100 index so far this year, adding 9%
compared to the 10% recovery in the benchmark index, as weaker
travel and leisure stocks capped gains.
Britain's cabinet was to meet later in the day as pressure
grows on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to slow the spread of the
Omicron strain with a tightening of social restrictions before
Christmas.
Britain's Deputy Prime Minister said 12 people had died with
the Omicron variant in the UK, and 104 were currently in
hospital with it.
Standard Chartered fell 1.3%, tracking a decline in
financial stocks and after the lender was fined 46.55 million
pounds ($61.51 million) by the Bank of England for regulatory
lapses.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Uttaresh.V and Mark Heinrich)