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UK stocks fell substantially in early trading on Monday after British health secretary Sajid Javi wouldn't rule out new Covid restrictions being introduced before Christmas.
At 0814, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 143.66 points, or 2.0%, at 7,126.26.
Governments around the world are being forced to consider fresh lockdown measures due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. The Netherlands already has announced fresh lockdowns.
Making corporate news, mining company Rio Tinto fell 2.1% to £47.725 after it announced that it had appointed Dominic Barton as it incoming chairman, to replace Simon Thompson next May.
Barton had spent 30 years at management consultancy McKinsey and was most recently Canada's ambassador to China.
Rio Tinto has made sweeping management changes after it last year blasted ancient caves sites in Australia of cultural significance to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people.
Engineering company Rolls-Royce dropped 3.5% to 110.36p, even as the Qatar Investment Authority agreed to acquire a 10% stake in its mini nuclear reactor business for $85 million.
The joint venture, called Rolls-Royce SMR, was building nuclear power stations around one tenth the size of a conventional nuclear generation site.
Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca fell 1.2% to £84.12 despite it and Amgen's drug to treat severe asthma being approved in the US as an add-on maintenance treatment.
AstraZeneca also announced that its systemic lupus erythematosus antibody had been recommended for marketing authorisation in the European Union as an add-on therapy.
Rival drug company GlaxoSmithKline lost 1.9% to £15.834 on announcing that former Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis of its consumer healthcare spin off.
Lewis would take up the role on 1 January ahead of the demerger occurring later in 2022.
In what was a relatively big day for chairman announcements, heat treatment services supplier Bodycote added 1.2% to 819.5p, on announcing the appointment of Daniel Dayan to the role.
Dayan, who would succeed Anne Quinn, was currently chairman of Swedish supply chain services group CellMark.
Tech company WANdisco softened 0.3% to 329p even as it upgraded its annual revenue forecast after it won a sizeable contract through its IBM channel.
WANdisco said it now expected revenue in its 2021 financial year to be 'meaningfully ahead' of current market estimates.
Safety products investor Marlowe fell 3.2% to 939p following news that it had acquired equality and diversity e-learning provider Skill Boosters for up to £8 million.
Skill Boosters, incorporated as Inclusive Learning, was based in Kent and provided equality, diversity, workplace behaviour and compliance courses to around 200 clients.
Enterprise software company Sopheon shed 3.2% to 905p after it acquired enterprise planning group ROI Blueprints for up to $3 million.
Sopheon also said it expected revenues and operating earnings for the year through December to be 'comfortably in line' with market expectations.