LONDON: British mid-cap stocks ended lower on Tuesday as fears of fresh coronavirus-driven lockdowns overshadowed a fledgling economic recovery, while resource stocks supported the bluechip index.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended largely unchanged, but well above session lows. Energy and mining stocks were the best performers on the index for the day, helped by weakness in the pound.
BP Plc provided the biggest boost to the index after its partially owned Norwegian oil firm Aker BP on Tuesday beat second-quarter pretax profit expectations.
Still, most other bluechip sectors ended lower as new coronavirus restrictions in California pressured technology stocks.
Tech-oriented investment trust Polar Capital Technology Trust was the biggest drag on Britain's midcap index, which lost 1.2% for the day.
Online gadget retailer AO World bottomed out the midcap index despite reporting a large jump in annual profit, as it warned of a fall in consumer confidence. Online supermarket and technology group Ocado slipped 2.2% despite reporting a 27.2% jump in first-half retail sales.
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