22 December 2020 | 12:11pm
StockMarketWire.com - The FTSE 100 was up by lunchtime, reversing earlier losses amid continued volatility in sterling with an ongoing UK freight crisis linked to the new Covid variant and a continuing lack of clarity on Brexit. By midday the index was 0.3% higher at 6,434.51.
In mildly positive economic news, UK gross domestic product in the third quarter rose 16.6%, according to a final reading from the Office for National Statistics, above a preliminary reading of 15.5%.
Telecom group Vodafone slipped 0.8% to 121p after it offered to buy out minority shareholders in German outfit Kabel Deutschland for €2.12 billion, at €103 per share.