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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher in early dealings on Monday, despite stepped up warnings about the Omicron variant of Covid-19, as focus is on monetary policy, with central banks front and centre this week.
The FTSE 100 index was up 11.89 points, or 0.2%, at 7,303.67 early Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 30.53 points, or 0.1%, at 22,958.24. The AIM All-Share index ticked down by 0.37 of a point at 1,190.58.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.1% at 724.37. The Cboe 250 was down marginally at 20,330.40, and the Cboe Small Companies was up slightly at 14,967.29.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.4% higher.
The target for giving every adult in England a booster jab has been brought forward by a month over fears of a "tidal wave of Omicron" that could cause "very many deaths".
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a pre-recorded address to the nation on Sunday evening, said Britain "must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection" as he set a new deadline of jabbing everyone over 18 by the start of the new year.
He said scientists had discovered that being fully vaccinated is "simply not enough" to prevent the spread of the coronavirus mutation and that, without a lightning speed mass booster campaign, the NHS could be overwhelmed.
"While market concerns about Omicron appear to be diminishing, the concerns of governments about the variant appear to be going in the other direction and increasing, with the UK government implementing a Plan B of new restrictions starting this week, as well as accelerating the roll out of its booster vaccination programme," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson commented.
"Against these increasing concerns of a rising Omicron wave, in Europe there is the already present wave of Delta to deal with, which is still on current evidence much more deadly, while there are still no reported fatalities because of Omicron anywhere in the world, including South Africa, where it was first reported. This appears to be prompting concern that politicians are over-reacting, not only here in the UK, but the US as well with some US states reimposing new restrictions in response to new cases."
The UK's largest airlines and travel companies have expressed their concerns about "haphazard and disproportionate" travel restrictions imposed by the government, PA reports. Tougher rules introduced due to the Omicron coronavirus variant mean everyone entering the UK must have evidence of a negative pre-departure test, and self-isolate until they receive a negative result from a post-arrival test.
In a letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the chief executives of seven companies – including Ryanair and IAG's British Airways – accused Johnson of breaking his promises to fix the expensive cost of PCR tests for travellers.
Amid the furore over Covid-19 measures, markets remain focused on the major central banks this week, with policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Bank of England and European Central Bank on Thursday.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3237 early Monday, flat on USD1.3235 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro was priced at USD1.1288, down from USD1.1314. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was trading at JPY113.62, up from JPY113.28.
Asian equities were largely higher at the start of the week. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite closed 0.4% higher. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index faced late selling pressure and ended down 0.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.4%.
Bloomberg late Sunday reported that economists are tipping China to add fiscal stimulus early next year. This was after key officials in the world's second-largest economy said their aim for 2022 is to counteract growth pressures.
Bloomberg said economists predict property industry curbs to remain in China, but there will be fewer instances of "sudden" regulatory moves, particularly in the technology and education sectors.
In London, mining stocks got a lift from the China stimulus hopes. Anglo American climbed 1.8%, while Rio Tinto was up 1.6%.
Advertising firm WPP rose 2.0% after HSBC lifted the stock to Buy from Hold.
Among FTSE 250 listings, Watches of Switzerland rose 2.0% after Bank of America upped its recommendation for the stock to Buy from Neutral.
Capita shed 11%, the worst mid-cap performer. The outsourcer said revenue in the 11 months to November 30 rose 0.6% annually to GBP2.88 billion.
Revenue from the public sector was offset by declines in private sector work. Capita said it suffered from contract losses.
"We have continued in recent months to make progress with our corporate transformation, particularly in our Public Service division. However, Covid has continued to impact some businesses within our Portfolio division. This, combined with the anticipated revenue attrition in our Experience division has slowed the overall rate of top-line growth this year," Chief Executive Jon Lewis said.
Among AIM listings, medical imaging software company Feedback was a notable early riser, advancing 16%.
Feedback announced it will team with Amazon Web Services to provide cloud-based tuberculosis screening services in India.
AWS will provide "non-equity funding" for initial hosting costs, Feedback explained.
"We are delighted to have AWS as a partner in our TB screening programme. This funding support will enable us to establish and subsequently scale the TB screening solution to citizens in rural locations across India," Feedback Chief Executive Tom Oakley said.
Brent oil was quoted at USD75.58 a barrel early Monday in London, up from USD74.64 late Friday. Gold stood at USD1,787.45 an ounce, up from USD1,785.71.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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