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* FTSE 100 down 1.2%, FTSE 250 off 0.8%
March 19 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Friday, hit
by higher bond yields globally, while energy stocks dropped as
fresh COVID-19 lockdowns across Europe dampened hopes of a swift
recovery in demand.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE was down 1.2%, with oil
heavyweights BP Plc BP.L and Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L
falling 3.2% and 3.0%, respectively.
Mining and bank stocks including Rio Tinto RIO.L , Anglo
American AAL.L , BHP Group BHPB.L , HSBC holdings HSBA.L and
Barclays BARC.L were also among the biggest drags on the
index.
A weaker overnight finish on Wall Street following a jump in
U.S. Treasury yields also spilled over to Asian equities earlier
in the day. MKTS/GLOB
In the UK, data showed consumer morale jumped to a one-year
high in March as the public became increasingly confident of a
strong economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, a day after
the Bank of England also said the domestic recovery was
gathering pace. The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index .FTMC fell
0.8%, dragged down by industrial stocks.
Pub operator J D Wetherspoon JDW.L fell 1.1%, on a
half-yearly loss, compared with a year-earlier profit, as
hundreds of its pubs across the UK were shuttered through the
key holiday season due to the coronavirus-led restrictions.
Natwest Group NWG.L rose 0.4%, after agreeing to buy back
1.1 billion pounds ($1.53 billion) of shares from the British
government.