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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London ended in the red on Friday as Austria announced a new partial lockdown to try to curb surging coronavirus cases.
Austria will impose a lockdown for all and make vaccinations mandatory, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced on Friday, making the country the first in the EU to take such stringent measures as Covid-19 cases spiral.
The Alpine nation plans to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory from February 1 next year, while the lockdown will start from Monday and will be evaluated after 10 days, Schallenberg said. He blamed those refusing to be vaccinated for an "attack on the health system".
The lockdown means people are no longer allowed to leave their houses with few exceptions such shopping for essentials and exercising.
Elsewhere on the continent, the German state of Bavaria cancelled all of its popular Christmas markets this year due to a surge in coronavirus infections as part of broader restrictions to fight the pandemic.
FTSE 100 index ended down 32.39 points, or 0.5%, at 7,223.57. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index closed down 82.13 points, 0.4%, at 23,492.49. The AIM All-Share index finished down 4.61 points, 0.4%, at 1,232.14.
For the week, the FTSE 100 ended down 2.2%. The FTSE 250 lost 0.4%, while the AIM All-Share shed 1.2%.
The Cboe UK 100 index ended down 0.4% at 71620. The Cboe 250 closed 0.3% lower at 20,933.90 and the Cboe Small Companies index ended down 0.6% at 15,386.40.
In Paris the CAC 40 stock index ended down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended down 0.3%.
"Austria's lockdown decision has revived the spectre of weaker economic growth, and as a result global stocks are generally lower on the final day of the week. European markets are mostly down in unison, as investors look to take profits on indices like the Dax and CAC, which both hit highs just yesterday, while the Channel is no barrier to losses on the FTSE 100, which has fallen further to put a resoundingly poor finish on an already dismal weak for the premier UK index," said IG Group's Chris Beauchamp.
In the FTSE 100, Ocado ended the best performer, up 6.8%, after Deutsche Bank highlighted Marks & Spencer could buy out Ocado's half of their online retail joint venture.
Of M&S, Deutsche Bank said: "Cash flow is no longer being squandered on an unsustainable dividend but saved to recover the investment grade credit rating that may be required to buy out Ocado." M&S shares ended up 2.5%.
At the other end of the large-caps, travel stocks were among the worst performers on fears over the Covid resurgence on the continent.
British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines ended down 3.8%, while aviation aftermarket services providers Rolls-Royce and Melrose Industries lost 3.9% and 4.4% respectively.
Midcap carrier Wizz Air closed down 4.7% and AIM-listed Jet shed 1.1%. Ryanair Holdings - which separately - announced plans to de-list from London due to declining trading volumes following Brexit - finished 1.8% lower.
Kingfisher closed down 4.4% amid fears the DIY retailer's stellar sales as a result of lockdown restrictions will begin to wane.
Total sales in the third quarter ended October 31 were GBP3.25 billion, down 6.3% on a year ago. The like-for-like decline was 2.4% on an annual basis at constant currency, but on two years earlier - so in comparison with pre-virus levels - growth was 15%.
Reported UK & Ireland third quarter sales were 2.1% lower, with a decline at B&Q offsetting progress at Screwfix. In France, where it owns Castorama and Brico Depot, sales fell 9.5%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3460 at the London equities close, down from USD1.3475 at the close Thursday, despite positive UK retail sales figures.
UK retail sales for October were stronger than expected, the Office for National Statistics said, which should give the sector some reasons to be cheerful heading into the key festive trading period.
Retail sales rose 0.8% month-on-month in October, accelerating from a flat reading for September and beating expectations, cited by FXStreet, for a 0.5% rise.
Annually, the decline was 1.3%, worse than the 0.6% recorded for September, but better than consensus forecasts for a 2% decline.
The euro stood at USD1.1320 at the European equities close, down from USD1.1351 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY113.86, lower against JPY114.28.
Stocks in New York were mostly lower at the London equities close as markets weighed new Covid-19 restrictions in Europe while US President Joe Biden's social welfare bill advanced in Congress.
The DJIA was down 0.7% and the S&P 500 index down 0.1%, but the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4%.
In Washington, the House of Representatives on a party-line vote approved Biden's USD1.8 trillion Build Back Better Act. The bill now goes to the Senate where intense debate is expected.
On Wall Street, Intuit was up 10% after the financial software provider, late Thursday, reported a sharp growth in revenue in the first quarter and also upped its annual revenue guidance. In addition, Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral.
Brent oil was quoted at USD79.05 a barrel at the London market close, down sharply from USD80.30 at the close Thursday.
"Crude oil prices have slipped back sharply, Brent prices hitting their lowest levels in 6 weeks after today's lockdown news out of Europe, as concerns over demand start to weigh on prices," explained CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
Gold stood at USD1,859.72 an ounce at the London equities close, lower against USD1,861.03 late Thursday.
The economic events calendar on Monday has the People's Bank of China loan prime rate announcement overnight and eurozone consumer confidence reading at 1500 GMT.
The UK corporate calendar on Monday has annual results from seal and cables maker Diploma and interim results from self-storage provider Big Yellow.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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