(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* FTSE 100 falls 0.7%, FTSE 250 slips 0.7%
Jan 28 (Reuters) - British shares fell on Thursday as energy
and mining stocks tracked commodity prices that fell on virus
and lockdowns-led demand worries, while the vaccine row between
the European Union and AstraZeneca Plc continued to weigh.
AstraZeneca AZN.L was the top drag to the FTSE 100 index
for the second consecutive day after EU officials demanded on
Wednesday that AstraZeneca use British production facilities to
cover the shortfalls in supply that was promised to the
continent. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 0.7%, with miners
.FTNMX1770 and energy stocks .FTNMX0530 being the top
losers. The mid-cap index also slid 0.7%.
The spike in virus cases and lockdowns led the UK to see its
biggest rise in vacant shops in over two decades, while car
output fell to its lowest level since 1984 after the COVID-19
pandemic shut factories and hurt demand.
British airline easyJet dropped 2.2% after warning that it
would fly no more than 10% of 2019's capacity in the Jan-March
quarter, while London-listed shares of Hungarian airline Wizz
Air WIZZ.L fell 0.3% after reporting a third-quarter loss.
Miner Anglo American AAL.L gained 1% after it trimmed its
production outlook for diamonds in 2021, owing to operational
challenges, but it kept output targets for most other metals
unchanged.