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* FTSE 100 down 0.8%, FTSE 250 down 0.2%
* Centrica , Barclays drag on main index
* Number of coronavirus cases in China rises
Feb 13 (Reuters) - London's blue-chip index was dragged
lower on Thursday by steep falls in heavyweight bank Barclays
and utility Centrica, while a rise in new coronavirus cases in
China jolted broader risk sentiment.
Centrica CNA.L skidded 13% to a near three-month low after
its 2019 profit slumped by more than a third, leading the FTSE
100 .FTSE to shed 0.8% after two successive days of gains.
Barclays BARC.L was a major drag on the bourse as it
slipped 3.2%. Britain's financial regulators were probing
historical links between its chief executive and U.S. financier
Jeffrey Epstein, which overshadowed financial results.
The mid-cap FSTE 250 .FTMC lost 0.2% by 0809 GMT, tracking
a broader risk-off sentiment as the Chinese province at the
epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak reported a record rise in
deaths and thousands more cases.