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The FTSE 100 was firmly lower by midday, down 1.1% to 6,641.97, as recent oil price strength reversed on demand concerns with oil major BP falling 2.8% to 293.2p.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca released updated late-stage clinical results showing its vaccine AZD1222 is 76% effective preventing symptomatic Covid-19.
This revised figure is slightly below the 79% efficacy reported earlier this week. The update comes after an independent agency in the U.S. requested up to date data from the phase 3 trial.
Astrazeneca's share price ticked up slightly on the back of the announcement to £71.39.
United Utilities expects group revenue to be lower this year, reflecting the reduction in 'allowed regulatory revenue', with lower consumption from businesses as a result of Covid-19 largely offset by higher consumption from households.
In a trading update, the company also said it expects underlying operating profit to be lower than 2019/20 largely reflecting the lower revenue and higher infrastructure renewals expenditure (IRE). Its share price was flat at 910.2p.
Online fashion firm Boohoo fell 1% to 329.2p as it cut ties with hundreds of its suppliers in the UK after a review into working practices in its supply chain.
Cinema group Cineworld swung to a $3 billion annual loss on asset writedowns and lower revenue after Covid-19 restrictions forced it to shut its doors. For the year ended 31 December 2020, pre-tax losses were $3.0 billion, compared with a profit of $212.3 million last year as revenue fell 80.5% to $852.3 million.
Its share price fell 9.9% on the back of the announcement, to 92.62p.
Online trading brokerage CMC Markets upgraded its outlook on annual profit following strong fourth-quarter performance. For the financial year ended 31 March 2021, net operating income was now expected to be 'slightly ahead' of the upper end of the current range of consensus of £399.61 million, the company said.
The news sent its share price up 3.8% to 461p.
Food services group Compass said it expected to report a fall in organic revenue, but improved margins for the first of the year as the company continued to control costs and resize its business.
For the six months ending 31 March 2021, organic revenue was expected to fall by 31% following a 33.7% fall in Q1 and 28% fall in Q2. Its shares fell 1.1% to £14.55 on the news.