Data showing that the UK economy shrank by a record 9.9 per cent last year on the back of the pandemic sent London’s main stock indices lower in early trading. The figures also showed, however, that GDP grew by 1 per cent in the three months to the end of December, preventing the economy from heading back into recession in the final quarter of a year punctuated by lockdowns and other restrictions that hit British businesses. SponsoredThe FTSE 100 suffered an early fall of 0.2 per cent but by late morning was back in positive territory, before yo-yo-ing up and down as traders wrestled with the mixed data. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 0.24 per cent in late morning. Hugh Gimber, global market

Source: The Times February 12, 2021 12:00 UTC