REFILE-UPDATE 2-British midcaps jump on Brexit, vaccine optimism

  • Reuters
  • Stock Market News
REFILE-UPDATE 2-British midcaps jump on Brexit, vaccine optimism
Credit: © Reuters.

(Fixes typo in paragraph 7)

* Last moments to reach Brexit trade deal - EU

* UK inflation rises to 0.7% in October

* Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is 95% effective

* Insurer RSA jumps on 7.2 billion pound cash takeover offer

* FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.9%

By Devik Jain

Nov 18 (Reuters) - British midcaps jumped on Wednesday as hopes of a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union and further positive vaccine data from drugmaker Pfizer offset concerns about economic damage from surging coronavirus cases.

The domestically focused FTSE 250 index .FTMC , considered a barometer for Brexit sentiment, closed 0.9% higher, with shares in Micro Focus International MCRO.L surging 31.2% after the software firm forecast a higher annual margin. EU's Trade Commissioner said on Wednesday Britain and the bloc were in the last moments to reach a Brexit trade deal. are no guarantees a Brexit agreement will be reached but if one can be secured it would likely be a positive catalyst for UK stocks in the long run – removing a key source of uncertainty which has weighed heavily for more than four years," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

After falling nearly 0.6% in morning trade, the blue-chip index .FTSE ended 0.3% higher, after Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE ) PFE.N disclosed final results from its late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial that showed it was 95% effective. stocks such as banks .FTNMX8350 , housebuilders .FTNMX3720 and energy companies .FTNMX1770 rose, although a stronger pound capped gains on the index.

"The initial leg up of (vaccine news) is probably priced in already. There's still lots of headwinds to growth and activity from the renewed lockdowns and so investors may be just being a little bit cautious." said Ian Williams (NYSE: WMB ), economist and strategist at Peel Hunt.

Britain on Wednesday reported further 529 COVID-19 deaths and 19,609 cases, a day after it recorded its highest daily death figure since May. official data showed British inflation ticked higher in October to 0.7%. Insurance Group RSA.L jumped 4.6% after it agreed a 7.2 billion pounds cash takeover offer by overseas rivals. Group Plc HFD.L fell 4.6% after the bicycles and car products retailer sounded cautious about its second-half outlook due to lockdowns.

Add Chart to Comment

Comment Guidelines

We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind: 

  • Enrich the conversation
  • Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
  • Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically.
  •  Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases.
  • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and links within a comment will be removed
  • Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user.
  • Don’t Monopolize the Conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also believe strongly in giving everyone a chance to air their thoughts. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
  • Only English comments will be allowed.

Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

Drop an image here or Supported formats: *.jpg, *.png, *.gif up to 5mb

Error: File type not supported

Drop an image here or

100
Please try another search