(Alliance News) - Stocks in London ended the final day of November lower on Monday despite hopes for a swift coronavirus vaccine rollout, as investors took profit following a stellar month of gains.
US biotech firm Moderna said it would file requests for emergency authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine in the US and Europe, after full results confirmed a high efficacy estimated at 94.1%.
If the US Food & Drug Administration agrees it is safe and effective, the first of the drug's two doses could be injected into the arms of millions of Americans by the middle of December.
The highly-anticipated news comes as the US braces for a supercharged post-Thanksgiving coronavirus surge.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 69.27 points, or 1.1%, at 6,298.31. The large-cap index was up almost 10% in November.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index closed down 126.39 points, or 0.7%, at 19,336.32. The AIM All-Share index ended up 12.11 points, or 1.2%, at 1,051.12.
The Cboe UK 100 index closed down 1.1% at 627.39. The Cboe 250 ended up 0.8% at 16,710.57. The Cboe Small Companies finished up 0.2% at 11,304.01.
In Paris the CAC 40 ended down 1.4%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended 0.3% lower.
"The month is ending with modest losses across equity markets, although these moves barely put a dent in the huge rallies seen in indices since 1 November. After such impressive gains, and with the end of the year so close, it is hardly surprising that a significant amount of fund rebalancing and profit-taking is felt across markets, putting some modest pressure on indices," said IG Group's Chris Beauchamp.
On the London Stock Exchange, JD Sports Fashion ended the best performer, up 5.9%, after the Times reported on Saturday that the sportswear retailer was considering backing away from a possible offer to rescue troubled department store chain Debenhams, amid the looming collapse of Philip Green's Arcadia Group.
Arcadia, which runs the Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton fashion store brands, is the biggest holder of concessions within Debenhams department stores, the newspaper noted.
Earlier Monday, Sports Direct and House of Fraser owner Frasers Group confirmed that it is interested in any sale process for Arcadia Group, should the UK retailer fall into administration.
However later on Monday, Frasers said that Arcadia has declined its GBP50 million loan offer.
"Frasers Group were not given any reasons for the rejection, nor did Frasers Group have any engagement from Arcadia before the loan was declined," the rival retailer added.
Shares in Frasers Group closed 5.7%.
At the other end of the large caps, oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell 'A' and 'B' shares closed down 5.8%, 5.1% and 5.8% , tracking spot oil prices lower.
Brent oil was trading at USD47.75 a barrel at the London close, down from USD48.05 at the close Friday.
Oil prices remained under pressure as the two-day OPEC meeting to decide whether to begin producing an extra 2 million barrels per day of oil, or delay for another three to six months got underway.
Investors were worried that the cartel had still not agreed on an extension of the output cuts that have provided support for most of the year.
"We believe that it's very, very likely that OPEC+ will postpone the increasing of the oil production two million barrels per day plan for January 1, probably two or three months. There is very little chance of them deciding to increase the production by two million barrels per day because they would know that would result in a decline in price right away," said energy consultancy FGE.
Lloyds Banking Group closed down 3.5%. The high street bank said it has chosen Charlie Nunn as chief executive officer to replace the outgoing Antonio Horta-Osorio.
Nunn is currently global chief executive for Wealth & Personal Banking at fellow lender HSBC. He joined HSBC in 2011, having also held roles including global chief operating officer of Retail Banking & Wealth Management and head of Wealth Management & Digital.
HSBC closed down 4.1%.
Lloyds said Nunn's start date depends on agreement with HSBC. It noted that Nunn's contract calls for a six-month notice period and up to six months post-termination restrictions. The bank said that if Horta-Osorio steps down before Nunn's arrival, then Chief Financial Officer William Chalmers will be acting CEO.
Horta-Orsorio's departure after 10 years at the helm of Lloyds was announced back in June. He is aiming to leave by the end of June 2021.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3343 at the London equities close, up from USD1.3331 at the close Friday.
The euro stood at USD1.1948 at the European equities close, down from USD1.1957 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY104.27, up from JPY103.99 late Friday.
Stocks in New York were firmly in the red at the London equities close as hopes that vaccines will soon be rolled out were overshadowed by concerns over fears of a coming surge in US cases.
The DJIA was down 1.2%, the S&P 500 index down 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.0%.
US President Donald Trump's top infectious diseases expert warned of a fresh jump in cases in the coming weeks after millions of Americans ignored scientific advice and travelled around the country for Thanksgiving last week.
"There almost certainly is going to be an uptick because of what has happened with the travel," Anthony Fauci told CNN's State of the Union. "We may see a surge upon a surge" in two or three weeks in the run-up to Christmas, Fauci added.
Meanwhile, US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday formally tapped ex-Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury, as he named officials to try to revitalise the world's largest economy.
The US is struggling with a massive Covid-19 outbreak that's caused tens of millions of layoffs while sharply slowing annualised growth, and with cases surging again and Congress deadlocked over more aid.
If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen, 74, will be the first female Treasury head in its history, and likely be tasked with breaking the deadlock over aid in Washington, should lawmakers not come to an agreement before Biden's January inauguration.
Gold was quoted at USD1,772.60 an ounce at the London equities close, lower against USD1,786.40 late Friday.
The economic events calendar on Tuesday has manufacturing PMI readings from Germany, the eurozone, the UK and the US at 0855 GMT, 0900 GMT, 0930 GMT and 1445 GMT respectively.
The UK corporate calendar on Tuesday has annual results from Topps Tiles and Hyve Group.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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