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UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 propped up by AstraZeneca, snaps three-week losing streak

Fri, 17th Jul 2020 09:45

* AstraZeneca tops FTSE 100 on Russian vaccine deal

* Focus turns to quarterly earnings updates

* Burberry underperforms FTSE 100 peers for the week
(Adds graphic, updates to close)

By Shashank Nayar and Ambar Warrick

July 17 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 rebounded from early losses
on Friday to snap a three-week losing streak as growing hopes
for a coronavirus vaccine pushed up the healthcare sector.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended up 0.6%, bolstered
chiefly by AstraZeneca amid anticipation of a deal with
Russia to manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the
drugmaker and Oxford University.

AstraZeneca had pushed up the FTSE 100 through the week on
optimism over the development of its COVID-19 vaccine. The
bluechip index added 3.2% for the week.

The mid-cap FTMC ended up 0.2% for the day, coming
off early losses after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey
said that Britain's economy was starting to recover from its
coronavirus lockdown.

After a stock market rally powered by historic stimulus and
improving macroeconomic indicators, analysts said investors were
looking to quarterly earnings updates from marquee companies to
gauge the pace of the recovery in the latter half of this year.

"Markets have so far been rising on hope but investors right
now are more cautious and would wait for progress in corporate
numbers before they enter markets again," said Andrea Cicione,
strategist at TS Lombard.

Global miner Rio Tinto was among the top boosts to
the FTSE 100 after posting stronger second-quarter iron ore
shipments and flagging improving Chinese demand for the
steelmaking ingredient.

Improving Chinese demand has pushed up metal prices, while
weakness in the pound has helped local resource
exporters. Miner Fresnillo Plc was the best weekly
performer on the FTSE 100, adding about 16%.

On the other hand, Burberry was the worst weekly
performer on the FTSE 100 after it said it would cut about 500
jobs in the face of sluggish demand for luxury goods. The stock
shed more than 5% for the week

Banking major HSBC shed about 1.6% for the day
after Reuters reported that the bank's global equities chief
Hossein Zaimi was stepping down.

(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu, Shailesh Kuber and Mark Heinrich)

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