London's FTSE 100 fell for a fourth straight session on Friday and was headed for weekly losses as the relentless surge in global coronavirus cases dulled optimism around a nascent economic recovery.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.4%, with BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc tracking a slide in oil prices on worries that the surge in infections would spark new lockdowns, denting fuel demand.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 was flat. Energy, personal goods and aero stocks were among the biggest decliners on the day.

"Traders are wasting little time hitting the sell button as the sum of the second wave fears is starting to seep in," said Stephen Innes, market strategist at Axicorp.

A stimulus-led rally in UK stock markets has slowed this month with economic data still signaling only a tentative revival in business activity following the easing of a coronavirus-led lockdown.

Data on Friday showed British shoppers returned to the high street in June, but overall numbers were much lower than normal for the time of year.

Europe's volatility index climbed to its highest in more than a week, but analysts said aggressive global stimulus since April would help limit declines in financial markets.

"I don't think volatility is going to run too far given the central bank backstops keeping several buy programs in play," Innes said.

"But one thing that does concern me is the summer month vicious circle of low market price-based liquidity and moves that tend to get magnified or blown out of proportion."

Brexit concerns are also simmering, with the European Union's chief negotiator saying on Thursday "significant divergences" persisted in talks with Britain on their new relationship from 2021.

In thin company news, engineering firm Senior Plc was down 2.8% after saying it laid off another 12% of its staff and forecast a drop of about 30% in revenue for the first half of the year. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie