UK shares head for weekly loss on Omicron concerns, inflation risks

A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo/File Photo

Dec 17 (Reuters) – UK’s FTSE 100 slipped on Friday and was on course for a weekly loss, as concerns surrounding the fast-spreading Omicron variant and inflationary risks outweighed strong retail sales data.

The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) was down 0.1%, with oil majors Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and BP (BP.L) falling about 1% each, tracking weakness in crude prices as surging COVID-19 cases raised fears that new curbs may hit fuel demand. read more

Shares of HSBC (HSBA.L) dipped 0.3% after UK’s financial regulator said it had fined the bank 63.95 million pounds ($85.16 million) for failings in its anti-money laundering processes. read more

Retailers (.FTNMX404010) gained 0.9% after data showed sales rose faster than expected last month, helped by Black Friday discounts, early Christmas shopping and no lockdown restrictions. read more

“Some of that strength was because households were bringing forward their Christmas shopping amid worries about shortages, shipping delays, even before Omicron,” said Bethany Beckett, UK economist at Capital Economics.

“Still retailers are positioned to deal with Omicron better than sectors like hospitality.”

Domestically focussed mid-cap stocks (.FTMC) were flat, even as retailers Marks and Spencer (MKS.L) and WH Smith (SMWH.L) gained on upbeat retail data.

However, a survey showed consumer confidence was down heading into December as the emergence of Omicron and inflation worries hit spending plans. read more

The Bank of England surprised investors on Thursday, increasing interest rate by 15 basis point, the first hike since the start of the pandemic, as it seeks to tackle a surge in inflation. read more

Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Vinay Dwivedi

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