(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* England's 'Freedom Day' marred by soaring cases
* Energy, mining, financial stocks slide
* Travel stocks hits 7-month low
* FTSE 100 down 2.3%, FTSE 250 off 2.3%
(Updates to close)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Amal S
July 19 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 sank to a two-month low on
Monday on concerns that a spike in coronavirus infections could
derail a nascent economic recovery as the economy reopens.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended 2.3% down, marking its
worst session in over two months with all sectors in the red,
while the mid-cap FTSE 250 shed 2.3% as the rising
number of fresh cases removed the optimism from the lifting of
most restrictions in England.
With bond yields sliding, lenders dropped
3.5%, while declining oil, base metal and iron ore prices pushed
down miners and energy stocks 3.4%
and 4.4%.
"Risk aversion is firmly in place as the Delta Covid variant
spread is triggering a flight to safety as global economic
concerns intensify," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at
OANDA.
The FTSE 100 has gained 5.9% so far this year, supported by
low interest rates and hopes of an economic rebound, but a
bigger-than-expected jump in inflation and a surge in
coronavirus cases have put the export-heavy FTSE 100 on course
for its fourth straight weekly decline.
Meanwhile, Bank of England interest-rate setter Jonathan
Haskel said reducing stimulus was not the right option for the
foreseeable future, despite rising inflation, distancing himself
from last week's hawkish comments by his two colleagues.
Travel-related stocks, down 3.5%, sank to
their lowest level since December 2020 as the surge in
infections raised the prospect of new travel curbs.
Rising COVID-19 cases benefited online retail stocks,
including Just Eat Takeaway.com and B&M European Value
Retail, which were among the top gainers on the FTSE
100.
Ocado slipped 1.9% after the British online
supermarket and technology group's largest automated warehouse
suffered a fire, halting the fulfilment of customer orders from
the site.
By contrast, video game company Sumo Group surged
40.5% after it said Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings
would buy the British firm in a deal valuing it at 919
million pounds ($1.27 billion).
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani and Amal S in Bengaluru;
Editing by Arun Koyyur and Barbara Lewis)