(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Purplebricks plunges after delaying results
* SThree drops as CEO steps down
* FTSE 100 down 0.8%, FTSE 250 off 1.2%
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S
Dec 13 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended lower on Monday,
weighed by energy and financial shares, while reports of the
first death in Britain due to the Omicron coronavirus variant
added to worries over the impact of tighter restrictions on
year-end spending and economic activity.
After rising as much as 0.2%, the blue-chip FTSE 100
erased gains to end 0.8% lower, with banks
shedding 2.19% and oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell
falling 2.2% and 2.7% respectively, tracking weaker
crude prices.
Market participants were cautious after Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said on Monday at least one person had died in the UK
after contracting the Omicron variant.
"News that at least one person has died from the Omicron
variant sent London markets plunging after what had been a
rather directionless morning. All those stocks that rely on
consumer confidence have unsurprisingly borne the brunt of
today's selloff," said Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ
Bell.
Underwhelming growth data and the fast-spreading variant
have dampened expectations that the Bank of England would raise
interest rates soon.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index fell 1.2%,
weighed by a 3.5% drop in the travel and leisure sector
.
Money market futures are pricing in about 40% probability of
a 15-basis-point rate hike on Thursday, down from nearly 70% at
the start of last week.
Wizz Air fell 4.2% after HSBC downgraded the stock
to "reduce". Airlines have called for support after Omicron
dented recovery hopes, according to a report.
Purplebricks Group slumped 20.9% after the estate
agent said it would delay its interim results and warned of a
potential financial risk as it found problems with
communications with tenants about deposit registrations.
Recruiting firm SThree Plc tumbled 13.2% after
saying its chief executive officer would step down due to
personal reasons, despite expecting to post record annual
profits as reopening spurred a hiring boom.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S in Bengaluru;
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
