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UK stocks drifted lower in early trading on Monday as concerns about the spread of more virulent forms of Covid-19 tempered vaccine and US stimulus hopes.
At 0821, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 14.59 points, or 0.2%, at 6,680.48.
Online fashion retailer Asos rose 3.1% to £49.38, having confirmed media speculation that it was in exclusive talks with Arcadia's administrators to acquire Topshop.
Fellow online retailer Boohoo rallied 4.5% to 348p as investors embraced its decision to acquire the intellectual property assets of Debenhams for £55 million in cash.
Infant merchandise retailer Mothercare dropped 11% to 10.31p on announcing that it expected to post a small annual operating loss, as the pandemic hurt sales following a restructure of the struggling group.
In other sectors, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca rose 0.7% to £78.28 after it announced positive trial results and an approval in Japan, both for a lymphocytic leukaemia treatment.
Automotive fluid system maker TI Fluid Systems firmed 3.9% to 244.5p as it forecast 'slightly' better-than-expected annual margins amid a fall in sales pinned on the pandemic.
Inter-dealer broker TP ICAP shed 0.2% to 217.31p after its efforts to relocate staff to countries in the European Union in the wake of Brexit was delayed due to the pandemic.
Financial services company JTC advanced 2.8% to 592p as it guided for annual results in line with management and consensus estimates following new business wins.
Sirius Real Estate added 1.7% to 88p after its Titanium joint venture with AXA IM Alts had acquired the Sigma Technopark in Augsburg, Germany for around €80 million from a fund managed by Corestate.
Telecom services group Maintel gained 5.3% to 400p on forecasting annual revenue and adjusted earnings in line with guidance it delivered in September, despite the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns.