(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 was on course to end a strong 2021 on a soft note in Friday's abbreviated trading session, as Omicron infections continue to surge around the globe.
The FTSE 100 index was down 24.84 points, or 0.3%, at 7,378.17 early Friday - at this level up 14% since 2021 began.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 54.07 points, or 0.2%, at 23,485.48. The AIM All-Share index was down 1.02 points, or 0.1%, at 1,209.46.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.4% at 731.96. The Cboe 250 was down 0.1% at 20,910.47, and the Cboe Small Companies up 0.1% at 15,278.39.
A robust performance for London equities in 2021 was blown slightly off course in late November on the discovery of a new coronavirus variant now known as Omicron.
Hope of an end to the pandemic came during the year as vaccines were rolled out to around 60% of the world's population, although many of its poor still have limited access, but as 2021 drew to a close, the emergence of the Omicron variant pushed the number of daily new Covid cases past one million for the first time, according to an AFP tally.
Britain, the US, and even Australia – long a refuge from the pandemic – are breaking records for new cases.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3515 early Friday, up on USD1.3495 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The pound held near the USD1.35 mark despite coronavirus cases in the UK continuing to soar, with daily infections standing at more than 189,000 on Thursday.
England is the exception among UK nations in not imposing extra virus curbs for the festive period, while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have imposed limits on how many people can socialise together and closed nightclubs.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the high booster take-up rate in England plus evidence that Omicron is milder have allowed the country to avoid more restrictions.
The euro traded at USD1.1313 early Friday, lower than USD1.1322 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was flat at JPY115.11 versus JPY115.14.
Markets in Germany and Italy are closed on Friday for New Year's Eve, while the London and Paris stock exchanges will shut early. The London Stock Exchange will close at 1230 GMT. In early trade, the CAC 40 index in Paris was down 0.2%.
In China, the Shanghai Composite index ended up 0.6% on Friday, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended down 0.9%, while markets in Japan were shut for New Year's Eve.
Stocks in China outperformed after data showed manufacturing activity edged up in December, beating expectations as the price of commodities eased and despite sporadic closures due to Covid outbreaks.
The purchasing managers' index – a key gauge of manufacturing activity – in the world's second-biggest economy rose to 50.3 points, remaining above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction. The data from the National Bureau of Statistics marks a slight increase from last month's reading of 50.1 and beats expectations from analysts who had broadly predicted a slight decline.
"With the intensification of efforts to stabilize the economy, such as securing supply and stabilizing prices...the prices of some commodities have fallen significantly, and the cost pressure on companies has eased," said NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe.
Gold was quoted at USD1,817.80 an ounce early Friday, higher than USD1,811.44 on Thursday. Brent oil was trading at USD79.02 a barrel, edging down from USD79.20 late Thursday.
Towards the top of the FTSE 100 in quiet trade were precious metals miners, with Fresnillo up 0.8% and Polymetal International up 0.6%, both tracking gold prices higher.
At the bottom of the blue-chips was Flutter Entertainment, down 1.9% as it gave back some of Thursday's 3.3% gain.
On AIM, Mercia Asset Management rose 5.7%. Reliance New Energy Solar, a subsidiary of India's Reliance Industries, has agreed to buy sodium-ion battery technology firm Faradion for an enterprise value of GBP100 million.
Mercia holds a 16% stake in Sheffield-based Faradion and expects to receive initial cash proceeds of GBP18.6 million, plus a further GBP800,000 ring-fenced for three months.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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