Britain clinched a Brexit trade deal with the European Union, seven days before it exits one of the world's biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire
UK's trade deal with EU removes a 4-1/2-year old fear of crashing out of the bloc without trading arrangements, but it will take UK financial markets years to lose their Brexit-inflicted scars
Britain's parliament only has days to scrutinise and pass the laws needed to implement the deal before a December 31 deadline
Brexit - or "British exit" - refers to the process of the United Kingdom leaving the EU after 47 years in the economic and political alliance of European countries built from the ashes of World War 2
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Britain and the European Union have reached a deal on their post-Brexit trade relations, saying that "we have taken back control"
The last-minute trade deal between the UK and the EU means businesses will be spared new tariffs and border disruption at the start of the new year
"European unity and steadfastness have paid off," said French President Emmanuel Macron said in reaction to the deal reached on post-Brexit trade relations between Britain and the EU
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the agreement reached between the EU and Britain is "of historical importance," adding that Germany will examine it to decide whether Berlin supports the result
The market built gains overnight as Britain and the European Union reached a post-Brexit trade deal, reversed those gains, and then rebounded during the US session to end modestly higher.
He soon took to the podium at 10 Downing Street in London to declare that he had kept his promise to the British electorate, who had voted for Brexit in a referendum in June 2016
There could be a core of pro-Brexit lawmakers in Johnson's party who vote against the deal on the grounds that it doesn't deliver the kind of clean break they wanted.
While a last-minute deal would avoid the most acrimonious ending to the divorce on Jan. 1, the United Kingdom is set for a much more distant relationship with its biggest trade partner
Sources in London and Brussels said a deal was close as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a late-night conference call with his Cabinet of senior ministers
An accord would ensure that the goods trade that makes up half of annual EU-UK commerce, worth nearly a trillion dollars in all, remains free of tariffs and quotas
The domestically focused FTSE 250 .FTMC fell 2% as the latest development in the pandemic added to investors' worries
The broader markets ended in the red for second straight day.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has underlined the post-Brexit trade negotiations between Britain and the European Union (EU) were now "in a serious situation"
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 responded by rising 0.5%, while March Treasury bond futures slipped 5 ticks
Britain quit the EU in January but remains an informal member until December 31
British PM Johnson said there was "a strong possibility" Britain and the EU would fail to strike a new trade deal, but vowed to do whatever he could to avoid a tumultuous split in three weeks