21 December 2020 | 16:36pm
StockMarketWire.com - Sterling and the FTSE 100 were off their lows for the day amid hopes the flow of freight from France and other EU countries into the UK can resume after restrictions on the movement of goods and people were introduced thanks to concern over the new coronavirus strain.
By the close the index was down1.7% at 6,416.32. In the US the S&P 500 was down 1.3% to 3,661.38 by 4.30pm UK time as the apparent latest twist in the Covid crisis spooked investors across the globe.
NatWest, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland, slumped 2.5% to 153p after it agreed to acquire a £3.0 billion portfolio of prime UK mortgages from challenger lender Metro Bank for £3.1 billion.
Disclaimer J.P. Morgan Securities plc, which conducts its UK investment banking business as J.P. Morgan Cazenove ( J.P. Morgan Cazenove ), is authorised in the United Kingdom by the Prudential Regulation Authority (the PRA ) and regulated in the United Kingdom by the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority. J.P. Morgan Cazenove is acting as financial adviser exclusively for Signature and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Signature for providing the protections afforded to clients of J.P. Morgan Cazenove, or for providing advice in relation to any matter referred to herein.