(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window) * FTSE 100 down 0.7%, FTSE 250 off 0.4% March 22 (Reuters) - London’s FTSE 100 inched lower on Monday, dragged by energy and mining stocks as oil and metals prices slipped over fears of slowing demand, while AstraZeneca rose after its COVID-19 vaccine was found effective in a U.S. trial. The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index slipped 0.7%, with oil heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell being the biggest drags on the index. Mining stocks including Rio Tinto, Anglo American , and BHP were also among the biggest laggards, falling between 0.4% and 1.3%. Britons should wait before booking summer holidays abroad, social care minister Helen Whately warned, pointing out that there were rising COVID-19 infection rates in Europe. The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index fell 0.4%, dragged down by industrials stocks. Home improvement retailer Kingfisher rose 3.5%, after posting a 44% jump in full-year profit driven by the popularity of do-it-yourself projects during the pandemic. Drugmaker AstraZeneca gained 0.9%, after its COVID-19 vaccine was found 79% effective in a large U.S. trial at preventing symptomatic illness, and was 100% effective against severe or critical disease and hospitalisation. (Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)