UK mid-caps dip from 10-month highs on no-deal Brexit fears

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat, with energy and financial stocks among the biggest drags on the index as data showed retail sales fell 3.8% on the month in November when a four-week lockdown in England closed stores selling non-essential goods to the public. In company news, sub-prime lender Morses Club sank 6.3% after reporting a 76% plunge in first-half profit due to the pandemic.

British mid-caps slipped from near 10-month highs on Friday as growing signs of a no-deal Brexit raised fears of further damage to an economy already slammed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The domestically focussed FTSE 250, considered a barometer for Brexit sentiment, dipped 0.1% after four straight sessions of gains.

Britain and the European Union struck a pessimistic tone in trade talks on Thursday, with a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying it was "very likely" there would be no agreement unless the bloc changed its position "substantially". The blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat, with energy and financial stocks among the biggest drags on the index as data showed retail sales fell 3.8% on the month in November when a four-week lockdown in England closed stores selling non-essential goods to the public.

In company news, sub-prime lender Morses Club sank 6.3% after reporting a 76% plunge in first-half profit due to the pandemic.