Britain’s main stock index fell back into the red by lunchtime on Friday after an up and down morning, tumbling 0.46% to 5,985 by 12.50pm.
The benchmark index had edged higher in mid-morning trading, despite skittishness caused by a resurgence of coronavirus cases in Europe, with investors initially buoyed by news that Pfizer could receive regulatory approval for its coronavirus vaccine as early as October or November.
In addition, UK retail sales rose 3.6% in July, adding to June's 13.9% bounce and beating expectations of a 2% improvement.
However, market sentiment subsequently turned after midday. As well as rising coronavirus cases, also weighting on investors' minds were the latest PMI numbers, which showed evidence of a 'jobless recovery'.
Purchasing managers responding to the survey frequently noted that redundancy programmes had been running in tandem with efforts to return some staff from furlough.
LARGE AND MID CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Budget airlines gained after the UK Government added Portugal to its list of travel corridors. EasyJet (EZJ) rose 2% to 565p with rival Ryanair (RYA) improving 2.25% to €11.4, while tour operator TUI (TUI) edged 1.4% higher to 298.25p.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) shed 0.2% to £85.34, even as its drug to treat patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer gained approval in Japan.
Investment company HG Capital Trust (HGT) climbed 3.8% to 260p on announcing that it would pour about £17.1 million into Norwegian enterprise software company Visma.
SMALL CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Disease test-kit supplier Omega Diagnostics (ODX:AIM) rose 1.7% to 59p, having received World Health Organisation pre-qualification for its Visitect CD4 test for HIV.
Logistics group Eddie Stobart (ESL:AIM) jumped 7.2% to 8.2p on news that it had secured a three-year contract from supermarket group Morrisons (MRW) to provide transportation services from two distribution centres.
Alternative energy company Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE:AIM) surged 60% to 28.5p after it agreed to source £170 million of debt from South Korea’s Hana Financial Investment.
The debt would fund the first phase of the company’s Uskmouth project in Wales, which would convert a coal-fired power plant into one fed by waste-derived fuel pellets.
Engineering company 600 Group (SIXH:AIM) was unchanged at 8p, despite the welcome news its order book had begun to recover after lockdowns eased.
The company also secured a £1.2 million loan backed by the UK government via HSBC to help it weather the pandemic.
Cleaning products group Tristel (TSTL:AIM) ticked up 3.2% higher to 490p after its Duo disinfectants were approved for the decontamination of semi-critical medical devices by authorities in India.
RNA therapeutics developer Silence Therapeutics (SLN:AIM) softened 0.7% to 458p on announcing that it had filed for a proposed listing of American depositary shares on the Nasdaq.
Oncology, inflammation and infectious diseases focused Tiziana Life Sciences (TILS:AIM) edged up 1% to 158.5p, having been been granted a patent in the US related to its Milciclib treatment for cancer.
Superyacht maintenance company GYG (GYG:AIM) gained 3.9% to 80.5p on guiding for higher core first-half earnings, as margin improvements through restructuring offset a fall in revenue.
