WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks were moving lower on Monday, though markets came off their day's lows amid hopes that EU leaders would strike a deal on a recovery fund. Investors were also reacting to escalating tensions between the U.K. and China.
China will certainly make a resolute response to it if the U.K. government goes that far to impose sanctions on any of its officials, China's ambassador to Britain said.
The benchmark FTSE 100 slid 18 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,272 after gaining 0.6 percent on Friday.
Travel-related stocks were coming under selling pressure. Intercontinental Hotels Group shed 0.8 percent, easyJet declined 1.2 percent and TUI AG lost about 2 percent.
GlaxoSmithKline was down 0.7 percent. The pharmaceutical company and CureVac have signed a strategic collaboration agreement for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of up to five mRNA-based vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.
Synairgen shares soared 350 percent after the company announced positive results from its clinical trial of SNG001, its wholly-owned inhaled formulation of interferon beta, in hospitalized Covid-19 patients.
Recruiting firm SThree gave up 1.3 percent after its first-half profit nearly halved from last year.
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