(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* FTSE 100 down 0.7%, FTSE 250 off 0.4%
March 22 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 inched lower on
Monday, dragged by energy and mining stocks as oil and metals
prices slipped over fears of slowing demand, while AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)
rose after its COVID-19 vaccine was found effective in a U.S.
trial.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index .FTSE slipped 0.7%,
with oil heavyweights BP BP.L and Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L
being the biggest drags on the index. O/R
Mining stocks including Rio Tinto RIO.L , Anglo American
AAL.L , and BHP BHPB.L were also among the biggest laggards,
falling between 0.4% and 1.3%. MET/L
Britons should wait before booking summer holidays abroad,
social care minister Helen Whately warned, pointing out that
there were rising COVID-19 infection rates in Europe.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index .FTMC fell
0.4%, dragged down by industrials stocks.
Home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L rose 3.5%,
after posting a 44% jump in full-year profit driven by the
popularity of do-it-yourself projects during the pandemic.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L gained 0.9%, after its
COVID-19 vaccine was found 79% effective in a large U.S. trial
at preventing symptomatic illness, and was 100% effective
against severe or critical disease and hospitalisation.