(Alliance News) - London stock prices got off to a positive start on Wednesday after the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19 got the green light from UK regulators.
The FTSE 100 index was up 10.16 points, or 0.2%, at 6,612.81 early Wednesday. The FTSE 250 index was up 44.10 points, also 0.2%, 20,941.69. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.2% at 1,152.41.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 657.36. The Cboe 250 was up 0.1% at 18,312.99, and the Cboe Small Companies up 0.1% at 11,761.07.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.1% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was flat early Wednesday.
"European stocks are trading flat on the second-to-last trading day of this year. Investors seem to be less enthusiastic about the Brexit trade deal today. However, this isn't to say that they aren't optimistic any more," said Avatrade Chief Market Analyst Naeem Aslam.
The UK and EU will on Wednesday sign a mammoth trade pact to put the seal on their drawn-out Brexit divorce in the dwindling hours before they part ways definitively at the dawning of 2021.
EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel will ink the 1,246-page Trade & Cooperation Agreement at 0830 GMT, officials in Brussels said, days after it was clinched on Christmas Eve following months of hard-fought talks.
The hefty document will then be flown by the Royal Air Force to London for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to add his signature, as the UK parliament embarks on a rushed debate to clear the decks before a December 31 deadline.
According to Downing Street, Johnson will tell MPs that the agreement heralds "a new relationship between Britain and the EU as sovereign equals, joined by friendship, commerce, history, interests and values".
The government only released the accompanying UK legislation on Tuesday afternoon – less than 24 hours before the debate is to start in Parliament an hour after the signing in Brussels.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3540 early Wednesday, up from USD1.3509 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro traded at USD1.2259 early Wednesday, firming from USD1.2246 late Tuesday.
More areas in England will be placed under the country's toughest coronavirus restrictions, Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to tell the Commons on Wednesday.
Pressure mounted on the government to act as hospitals across England warned of increasing strains on services due to Covid-19 patient numbers, which have reached their highest levels during the pandemic, while 51,135 further cases and 414 deaths were reported on Tuesday.
Johnson chaired a meeting of the government's Covid-19 Operations committee on Tuesday evening, when changes to the tier system were discussed.
With case rates rising in all regions of England, as well as the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals, any review is likely to involve areas moving up a tier rather than down.
Areas that may be moved from Tier 3 to Tier 4 due to increasing case rates include parts of the East Midlands, such as Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, as well as all areas of the West Midlands metropolitan county.
Hartlepool in north-east England, along with a handful of areas in Lancashire – Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Pendle and Ribble Valley – could also be upgraded from Tier 3 to 4.
More positively, AstraZeneca said its Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency supply in the UK, with the first doses being released on Wednesday so that vaccinations may begin early in the New Year.
FTSE 100-listed Astra shares were up 1.1% in the morning trading on Wednesday.
The pharmaceutical firm said it aims to supply millions of doses in the first quarter as part of an agreement with the UK government to supply up to 100 million doses in total.
The vaccine was authorised by the UK Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, recommending two doses administered with an interval of between four and 12 weeks. Clinical trials showed the vaccine to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose.
The first doses will be released Wednesday in order for vaccinations to start early in the new year, Astra said.
The vaccine has been approved for the immunization of people aged 18 and over, with the authorisation recommending two doses administered with an interval of four to 12 weeks.
Among London mid-caps, Energean was up 0.7% after reaching an agreement with Kerogen Investments, an affiliate of Kerogen Capital, for the acquisition of Kerogen's 30% shareholding in Energean Israel. This will result in Energean owning 100% of the Israeli business.
A total consideration of between USD380 million and USD405 million, the Mediterranean-focus gas exploration and production company said.
Energean said the acquisition adds 2P reserves of 29.5 billion cubic metres of gas and 30 million barrels of liquids, representing 219 million barrels of oil equivalent in total, to the company.
Taking a 100% interest in Energean Israel will enable Energean to fully control its capital structure, it said, enhancing its ability to maximise total shareholder returns.
Elsewhere, iEnergizer jumped 12% after entering into a credit agreement for a new five-year senior secured term loan facility for USD165 million.
The IT service management company said it intends to utilise the additional financing now available to return cash to shareholders.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.5%. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY103.34, slightly down from JPY103.51.
In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 2.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.3%.
Gold was quoted at USD1,878.51 an ounce early Wednesday, slightly lower than USD1,882.29 on Tuesday. Brent oil was trading at USD51.48 a barrel early Wednesday, firm from USD51.16 late Tuesday.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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