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UK stocks opened lower on Wednesday as climbing Covid-19 cases in countries including the US and Australia cooled optimism that the global economy is turning a corner.
At 0823, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 25.57 points, or 0.4%, at 6,164.33.
Bus and rail company FirstGroup reversed 8.0% to 45.25p after it booked a £300m loss, blamed on writedowns at its Greyhound coach division, restructuring costs and a slump in passenger volumes due to the pandemic.
FirstGroup warned of material uncertainties about the pace of recovery in demand, which had slumped around 90% in March.
Plastics manufacturer Victrex dropped 3.7% to £19.12 as its third-quarter revenue slumped 18% and margins were squeezed, partly owing to a deferred elective procedures hurting its medical division.
Property investor Segro shed 0.7% to 908.6p on announcing that it had offered breathing space to tenants for rent worth £9m that was due for the third quarter.
Pharma giant AstraZeneca edged back 0.1% to £85.28, even as a pancreatic cancer treatment, jointly developed with Merck, received approval from the European Union.
Student accommodation group Unite cheapened by 0.2% to 922.5p, having forecast its rental income for the upcoming academic year to fall by 10-20%.
Scottish house builder Springfield Properties added 1.6% to 95p, despite announcing that it expected its annual profit to fall by as much as 44% due to Covid-19 lockdowns disrupting construction activity.
Springfield also said it had seen a resurgence in demand since it recommenced operations on site from 15 June, and therefore expected 'significantly higher' first-quarter sales in the current financial year.
Packaging company Mpac jumped 7.2% to 261.5p on announcing that its order book going into the second half of 2020 remained strong, with no orders cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Safety-related company investor Marlowe gained 0.6% to 529.88p even as it posted a fall in annual profit owing to acquisition expenses and losses on its sale of its air-quality activities.
Marlowe's adjusted profit, however, jumped 54% to £13.6m, as revenue climbed 44%.