BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks fell sharply on Thursday as Covid-19 numbers across the globe continued upwards and reports suggested that European leaders are considering no-deal Brexit plans due to the lack of progress on key sticking points.
The Times reported that EU leaders are concerned that businesses and fishing communities will be hit by economic disruption without EU contingency measures to cushion the blow of no-deal.
Time is running out for a deal with the two sides 'still quite far apart'. 'We must now come up with contingency measures. January 1, 2021 is getting close; we need a safety net,' the report showed, citing an EU official.
Both sides are 'nowhere near' agreeing on fishing rights as hardline member states, led by France's Emmanuel Macron, are demanding the same level of access to the waters after Brexit.
The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 59 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,326 after closing 0.3 percent higher on Wednesday.
Miners were losing ground, with BHP, Glencore and Antofagasta falling 1-2 percent.
Euromoney Institutional Investor gained 2 percent. After posting disappointing full-year results, the business and finance information firm said demand for its price reporting and essential market intelligence 'remains strong'.
Chemicals maker Johnson Matthey lost nearly 2 percent after posting a significantly lower profit for the first half of the fiscal year.
Postal service and courier company Royal Mail surged 7 percent after raising its annual revenue estimate.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX