The major UK equity indices started the final, half day of trading on a cautious note.
At the market opening the blue chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.4% at 7370.23.
However this equates to a year to date return of 14%, which would mark its strongest performance since 2016.
Concerns surrounding the possibility that the UK government will be forced to impose some form of restrictions in the New Year linger.
The latest omicron patient admission numbers showed a 32% increase over the last week, and the number of daily infections continues to hover around the 190,000 mark.
Market sentiment was also held back by the end of the Christmas rally for US equity markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 0.25% at 36,398.08, while the S&P 500 lost 0.3% to 4,778.73 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.16% at 15,741.56.
MARKET NEWS
Online betting company 888 Holdings (888) said it expected to publish a combined circular and prospectus for the acquisition of William Hill during Q2 2022.
The company said it also planned a capital raise to fund acquisition, and hold a shareholder meeting to approval the acquisition.
Completion was expected to occur in Q2.
Shares in the group drifted 1.3% to 301.9p on the news.
Asset manager Mercia Asset Management (MERC:AIM) said contracts had been exchanged for the sale of Faradion in a deal worth £100 million to Reliance New Energy Solar, with completion expected in early January.
Faradion is a world leader in sodium-ion battery technology that provides low-cost, high-performance and sustainable energy storage solutions.
Mercia held a 16.4% fully diluted direct holding in Faradion and was entitled to receive initial unrestricted cash proceeds of £18.6 million, plus a further £0.8 million ring-fenced for three months.
The news pushed the shares 4.8% higher to 37.7p.
Shares in mining group Anglo Pacific (APF) drifted 0.47% to 134.5p after announcing that it had completed the sale of its 1% gross revenue royalty over the Narrabri mine to the operator, Whitehaven Coal for up to $36 million.
The consideration was structured as fixed payments totalling $21.6 million and contingent payments which could generate a further $14 million.
'The completion of the sale of the Narrabri royalty marks the group's exit from thermal coal as we continue to pursue our strategy of increasing our exposure to commodities that support a more sustainable world,' the company said.
The group will release its Q4 2021 trading update in January 2022.
Round Hill Music Royalty Fund (RHM) said it had purchased 100% of a catalogue of 308 tracks from the Richardsons, Jack and his son Garth, made up of producer royalties and neighbouring rights income to timeless classic tracks.
The company also announced the acquisition of the master recordings and music publishing assets from the leading American reggae band Rebelution.
No financial details were provided with today's announcements and the company said it expected to provide further details once the $86.5 million proceeds from the July equity raise were deployed. The shares dipped 0.1% to $1.06.
A list of FTSE 100 index movers can be found here.
