Shares in London have fallen sharply and the pound has lost ground after several EU countries closed their borders to the UK, which has reported a new variant of coronavirus.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 and 250 indexes were both down about 1.7%.

Sterling was about 1% lower against the euro and down 1.6% against the dollar.

As well as renewed concern about Covid-19 cases in the UK, investors were reacting to another missed deadline in trade talks with the EU.

London and Brussels are trying to reach a trade deal before the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December.

The talks are set to continue on Monday between negotiators.

The stalled negotiations have been partly responsible for the pound fluctuating over recent weeks. Optimism that a deal would be struck had triggered a four-day winning streak for sterling, pushing it back up to just under $1.36 before it reversed course again.

On Monday, the pound fell to $1.3278, with the dollar also being buoyed after a $900bn plan to help the US economy weather the coronavirus pandemic was agreed.

European nations have begun to impose travel bans on the UK after it reported a more-infectious and "out of control" coronavirus variant over the weekend.

Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting flights.

On Saturday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a new tier four level of restrictions for London and South East England.

"The lockdown news and the stalemate on Brexit is keeping the market nervous," National Australia Bank's senior currency strategist Rodrigo Catril told Reuters.

The prime minister will chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee later after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.