From ‘unloved’ to ‘favorite,’ Britain’s stock market rides a wave.

From ‘unloved’ to ‘favorite,’ Britain’s stock market rides a wave.

The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesU.S. Travel BanVaccine InformationTimelineFrom ‘unloved' to ‘favorite,' Britain's stock market rides a wave.Despite strict lockdowns and Brexit trade disruptions, investors have turned to Britain's stock market in the first weeks of 2021.The skyline of London's financial district last week. After years of shunning British stocks, investors are having a change of heart. Credit...Toby Melville/ReutersBy Eshe NelsonThe start of 2021 has been rocky for Britain. Its exit from the European Union unleashed a colossal amount of red tape that has left some industries desperate for help, and the country is under yet another lockdown because of a fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus.But there has been a glimmer of hope. More than four million people in Britain have been partially vaccinated against the coronavirus, a promising pace of inoculation.Investors looking to ride a wave of optimism about a vaccine rollout have turned to Britain's stock market, which has posted a strong start to the year, jumping more than 6 percent in the first week.In the first two and a half weeks of January, the FTSE 100, Britain's benchmark stock index of large companies, gained 4.3 percent — outstripping the S&P 500 index, which rose 2.6 percent, and the