UK shares end lower as COVID-19 cases rise globally

London-listed stocks were reported under pressure as the number of new COVID-19 cases climbed globally on Monday. The increased risk of prolonged lockdowns and further damage to the global economy pushed investors to the backfoot. UK shares had ended on a hawkish note last week on the optimism of the monthly retail sales report.

The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index posted an intraday decline of 0.8%. The index opened at 6,292.60 on Monday but closed lower at 6,247.02 after briefly touching a high of 6,307.99 in the morning session. The commodity heavy index is currently about 18% down year to date.

FTSE 250 index slides by 0.6% on Monday

The domestically focused FTSE 250 index, on the other hand, recorded a 0.6% intraday decline on Monday that marked its worst performance on the daily chart in more than a week. The midcap index is now just over 20% down year to date. Learn more about the different stock exchanges and stock indices.

The FTSE 100 index was primarily weighed by the travel and leisure companies (.FTNMX5750) and energy stocks (.FTNMX0530) on Monday.

Other price actions on Monday included Glencore (LON: GLEN) that hit a 3-week low in the morning session as Switzerland launched a criminal probe that alleged the miner of insufficient measures to avoid corruption in DR Congo. The company, however, recovered all of its intraday loss before the close of the regular session on Monday.

Diageo (LON: DGE) was reported 2% down on Monday as the world’s largest spirits maker postponed the release of its full-year financial results for fiscal 2020 by 5 days. Despite securing a £201 million debt facility from private institutional investors, Cineworld still closed 3% down on Monday.

Carnival Plc drops over 10% on Monday

In the FTSE 250 index, Capita Plc took the lead with a 13.2% increase on Monday as it announced a potential deal with Access UK Ltd to sell Eclipse Legal Systems (legal process software product). On the downside, Carnival Plc dropped by over 10% as it said its cruise line will not resume operations in North America before October.

Financial markets also responded on Monday to a survey that reported the steepest decline in the British industrial output on record in the three months that ended in June. The survey also said that a further decline in industrial output in the upcoming months was very likely.