FTSE 100 slides as COVID-19 optimism wanes; Wall Street mixed at midday

• FTSE 100 index sheds 50 points
• Gold price slides by 0.8%
• US indices mixed

5.20pm: FTSE limps to the close

The FTSE 100 ended Thursday down 50 points, 0.8%, at 6,334.4, and the FTSE 250 finished 193 points, 1%, lower at 19,506.5.16:3.

“Stock markets are set to finish the day in the red as lockdown worries have replaced the recent optimism generated on the back of the vaccine hopes,” CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden wrote Thursday. “Traders haven’t forgotten about the hopeful news from Monderna and -BioNTech with respect to vaccines but concerns about damage being done to the economy is in focus today.”

Among the stocks in the red was easyJet plc (), which lost 4.6% to £721.80.

“In London, it is the usual suspects that are feeling the most pain because of the health concerns, as airlines, transport and hospitality stocks are under pressure,” Madden wrote. “Oil, mining and banking stocks are suffering too.” 

In the US, the Dow fell 199 points, 0.4%, to 29,318.96 just after noon ET. The Nasdaq Composite rose 66 points, 0.6% to 11,868.28, and the S&P 500 was nearly flat, down 3.5 points, 0.1%, to 3,564.25.

() was one of the harder hit stocks, dropping 2.9% to $37.12.

4.10pm: Gold friendless

London’s benchmark of blue-chips shares looks set to fall for the second day in succession.

The FTSE 100 was down 56 points (0.9%) at 6,329.

“Continuing the recent trend, the markets have remained in a relatively tight range, after Wall Street ended lower for the second straight day on Wednesday, which basically reversed a two-day rally. So, while it may look like equity investors are more concerned about the new lockdown measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus than they are hopeful about prospects for a vaccine, let’s not forget that this consolidation comes on the back of a sizeable two-week rally, especially for value stocks,” said Fawad Razaqzada at ThinkMarkets.

“As the major indices remain near their recent highs, this recent price action could therefore be regarded as bullish consolidation, rather than a bearish reversal,” he added.

It is not aa if investors have been deserting equities for gold; the yellow metal was down US$15.40 (0.8%) at US$1,858.50 on futures markets.

“Gold continues to lose momentum in response to recent vaccine announcements and their potential effectiveness in combatting a not-yet-under-control Covid-19 outbreak. This development has driven a small exodus out of exchange-traded funds with total holdings down 1.7 million ounces or 1.5% to a 2 ½-month low. While the short-term outlook has turned somewhat challenging, the medium-term outlook remains favourable for gold and other investment metals,” declared Ole Hansen, the head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
 

4.00pm: Proactive North America headlines:

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