FTSE 100 opens 1.3% down by 76 to 5,629 points after Britain suffers worst day for coronavirus deaths and China’s new cases double due to influx of returning overseas travellers
- FTSE 100 index of UK’s leading companies falls 76 points or 1.33% to 5,629 today
- It comes after two days of gains for index which closed up at 5,704 yesterday
- Deaths across the UK from the pandemic increased by 786 yesterday to 6,159
- Toll in US jumped by record 1,858, while mainland China’s new cases doubled
London stock markets fell today as investors tempered their recent optimism about the coronavirus while death tolls mount across the world.
The FTSE 100 index of Britain’s leading firms fell 76 points or 1.33 per cent to 5,629 shortly after opening this morning.
It comes after two days of gains for the index which closed up at 5,704 yesterday.
Deaths across the UK from the pandemic increased by 786 yesterday to 6,159, while the US jumped by a record of 1,858.
Mainland China’s new coronavirus cases also doubled in 24 hours due to infected travellers returning from overseas.
Meanwhile Tesco warned of more costs due to the pandemic. Shares in Britain’s biggest retailer fell 4.7 per cent after saying it expects to take a hit of up to £925million and warned it was unable to give a profit forecast for this financial year.
Insurers Aviva and Direct Line fell 9 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively after they pulled their 2019 final dividends as they look to ride out the economic fallout.
The London skyline at sunrise today, showing St Paul’s Cathedral and skyscrapers in the City
PAST FORTNIGHT: The FTSE has overcome some coronavirus-related losses in recent weeks
Asian stocks were mixed overnight while wild swings in the oil market added to the uncertainty, with prices rebounding today after sliding yesterday.
US crude futures jumped 6.4 per cent to $25.18 a barrel, having shed 9.4 per cent the session before, while Brent crude added $1.02 to $32.89.
Japan’s Nikkei stood out overnight with a rise of 2.3 per cent as the confirmation of a state of emergency led some to buy back hard-hit transport and retail stocks.
The S&P 500 had ended yesterday down 0.16 per cent, having been up as much as 3.5 per cent. The Nasdaq dropped 0.33 per cent and the Dow 0.12 per cent.
A man stands in front of a stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm today. The index saw a rise of 2.3 per cent after the confirmation of a state of emergency
After US stock markets closed, President Donald Trump said the country may be getting to the top of the coronavirus curve.
The Trump administration asked Congress for an additional $250billion in emergency economic aid for small US businesses reeling from the pandemic.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Joseph Capurso said: ‘While the virus’ ‘curve is flattening’, the economic effects of the corona crisis will linger for years in our view,’
‘Economies will take time to re-open, some businesses will not re-open, and unemployment will take years to return to levels reported at the end of 2019.’
