Britain finds mutant virus spreads faster, London epidemic prevention rises to the highest level | TechNews

The UK and the European Union decided to extend the negotiations and the two sides are still expected to finalize a new trade deal. Investors breathed a sigh of relief. Bank stocks led gains and the pan-European index closed higher. However, the pound’s rally is not good for the UK’s FTSE 100 index, which is dominated by exporters. Among the top three European indices, only British stocks closed lower.

On the 14th, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.44% (1.73 points) to close at 391.85 points.

The British FTSE 100 index fell 0.23% (14.92 points) to close at 6,531.83 points. The German DAX index rose 0.83% (108.86 points) to close at 13,223.16 points. The French CAC index rose 0.37% (20.29 points) to close at 5,527.84 points.

On the 13th, the UK and the European Union agreed to continue negotiations on a new trade deal after Brexit, but British Prime Minister Johnson has warned businessmen that the Brexit transition period will end on December 31st and they have yet to prepare. for a no-deal Brexit.

On the 14th, the pound appreciated against the dollar by 0.81% at 1.3325.

At the same time, the British government discovered a new variant of the new corona pneumonia (Wuhan pneumonia, COVID-19), which can cause the epidemic in southern England to heat up rapidly, and the level of epidemic prevention in London it will rise to the highest level since the 16th. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on the 14th that preliminary analysis showed that the virus variant is spreading faster than the original virus. At present, 1,000 patients have been found to be infected with the variant of the virus in England.

The epidemic in Germany has intensified. During Christmas, the city will be closed to prevent epidemics. From January 16 to 10, non-essential shops will be closed. Housekeeping concept stocks rallied. Popular online retailer Zalando soared 6.7% and food delivery company Delivery Hero soared 4.7%.

Pharmaceutical AstraZeneca plummeted 5.9%. The company announced that it would acquire Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $ 39 billion. The market was concerned that the purchase price was too high and its share price was affected.

(This article is reprinted with permission from MoneyDJ News; source for first image: Pixabay)

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