Source: Sharecast
The top-flight index was up 0.2% at 6,614.29, with lawmakers in the UK set to vote on the EU-UK trade deal in parliament later in the day.
Investors were also digesting the latest data from Nationwide, which showed that house prices rose to a six-year high at the end of 2020.
Annual house price growth hit 7.3% in December, up from 6.5% in the previous month. On the month, meanwhile, price rose by 0.8% following a 0.9% increase in November. House prices ended the year 5.3% above the level prevailing in March, when the pandemic hit the UK.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "The resilience seen in recent quarters seemed unlikely at the start of the pandemic. Indeed, housing market activity almost ground to a complete halt during the first lockdown as the wider economy shrank by an unprecedented 26%.
"But, since then, housing demand has been buoyed by a raft of policy measures and changing preferences in the wake of the pandemic. The furlough and Self Employment Income Support schemes provided vital support for the labour market, while a host of measures helped to keep down the cost of borrowing and keep the supply of credit flowing. The stamp duty holiday also stimulated housing demand, by bringing forward people’s home-moving plans.
"Lenders also responded by offering payment holidays to borrowers impacted by the pandemic, helping people stay in their homes rather than potentially being forced to sell."
In equity markets, AstraZeneca was little changed after the UK approved the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with Oxford University. The shares had already rallied on Tuesday amid expectations the vaccine would be approved this week.
Unlike the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine, which was approved at the start of December and needs to be stored at -70C, the AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions for at least six months, making the rollout much simpler.
AstraZeneca is aiming to supply millions of doses in the first quarter as part of an agreement with the government to supply up to 100m in total.
News of the approval came as millions more people in England were expected to be plunged into tougher Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions.
Shore Capital said: "Overall, this is another positive day in the fight against Covid-19 and particularly the new finding that individuals have some degree of protection two weeks after the first dose of AZD1222.
"We’ve always argued that this vaccine could be the most important in ending the pandemic, given its much lower price and ease of storage and distribution (two features it shares with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine in all fairness). For many developing countries, buying, storing and distributing mRNA vaccines isn’t feasible and so the adenovirus-vector candidates will be much more important in those countries.
"For the UK, AZD1222 is also disproportionately important given the government has ordered 100 million doses of this candidate and so it was the vaccine that was most backed. It could be that tens of millions of people will have received at least one dose of AZD1222 by the end of Q1 2021. As such, today’s approval is a big milestone, but the hard work starts now."
Elsewhere, banks were on the rise following heavy losses a day earlier, with Barclays, Standard Chartered, Lloyds, NatWest and HSBC all higher.
British Airways and Iberia parent IAG also flew higher as investors bet that prospects for the travel sector in 2021 would be brighter.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,614.29 0.18%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,870.02 -0.13%
techMARK (TASX) 4,155.61 -0.26%
FTSE 100 - Risers
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 167.95p 2.82%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 37.56p 2.18%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 478.70p 2.07%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 271.00p 1.96%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 168.50p 1.87%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 390.15p 1.72%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,338.00p 1.61%
Barclays (BARC) 151.66p 1.59%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 3,509.00p 1.42%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 9,210.00p 1.19%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,142.50p -2.14%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,724.00p -1.40%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,872.00p -1.01%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,574.50p -1.01%
Diageo (DGE) 3,017.50p -0.90%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,403.00p -0.85%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,418.00p -0.70%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,340.00p -0.68%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,781.00p -0.68%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 522.80p -0.65%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 2,295.00p 4.08%
SSP Group (SSPG) 347.60p 3.64%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 327.40p 3.15%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 211.80p 2.92%
Provident Financial (PFG) 319.00p 2.51%
Ibstock (IBST) 206.80p 2.38%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,590.00p 2.19%
Royal Mail (RMG) 345.40p 1.92%
Trainline (TRN) 474.80p 1.84%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 249.50p 1.84%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TP ICAP (TCAP) 243.40p -4.25%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 307.00p -3.91%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 282.80p -3.28%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 4,450.00p -3.26%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 1,014.00p -3.24%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,434.00p -2.32%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 408.50p -2.27%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 393.00p -2.24%
GCP Student Living (DIGS) 141.60p -2.21%
John Laing Group (JLG) 331.20p -2.01%