^FTSE - FTSE 100
| Previous close | 7,156.83 |
| Open | 7,156.83 |
| Volume | 0 |
| Day's range | 6,871.85 - 7,044.66 |
| 52-week range | 6,871.85 - 7,727.50 |
| Avg. volume | 684,130,187 |
- Financial Times
Asian stocks fall again as US confirms coronavirus transmission
Asian stocks and Wall Street futures fell after US health authorities confirmed the first likely case of community transmission of the deadly coronavirus on American soil, prompting fresh fears over the epidemic’s spread. US and European futures pointed to further losses when trading begins later in the day, with contracts for the S&P 500 and FTSE 100 down 1.3 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. Oil price falls deepened, with global benchmark Brent crude down 1.1 per cent at $52.82 a barrel, its lowest level in more than a year.
- Reuters
London stocks in slow lane as cliff-edge fears rise again - Reuters poll
London's blue-chip stocks are set to gain modestly this year although the outlook is coloured by the British government's determination to stick to the end-December deadline for a trade deal with the European Union, a Reuters poll found. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's insistence that he will not extend the post-Brexit transition period leaves little room to avoid a potentially damaging "no-deal" outcome if negotiations with Brussels founder. A survey of more than 20 fund managers, strategists and brokers, taken over the past two weeks, found the FTSE 100 index was expected to rise about 7% to 7,510 by end-2020 from Tuesday's close.
- Reuters
British midcaps hit over three-month low; FTSE 100 outshines
The FTSE 250 shed 0.5%. The export-laden FTSE 100 , which fell to a one-year low earlier, ended 0.4% higher as investors in the United States bought into stocks after a recent sell-off triggered by concerns over the coronavirus. Firms more exposed to the British economy underperformed and sterling climbed lower, mainly due to concerns that new finance minister Rishi Sunak's budget in March may not deliver the level of fiscal spending expected by markets.
- Financial Times
NMC Health fires chief after finding bank discrepancies
NMC Health, the beleaguered FTSE 100 healthcare provider, has fired its chief executive, suspended a member of its treasury team and granted “extended sick leave” to its chief financial officer after finding discrepancies in its bank statements. The announcements from NMC came on Wednesday evening after an independent review into the company led by former FBI director Louis Freeh presented its interim findings to the board. The company has been hit by a series of embarrassing disclosures since short seller Muddy Waters raised “serious doubt” over the group’s finances in December, with questions over reported asset values, cash, profits and debt.
- Financial Times
Markets not live, Wednesday 26th February 2020
As of pixel the FTSE 100 and All-Share are on 12 month forward yields of 5.08 per cent and 4.83 per cent respectively. All but six of the FTSE 100 have an expected dividend yield of 1 per cent or more, along with 363 of the 623 stocks in the FTSE All-Share.
- Associated Press
Asian shares slide on fears virus will stunt global economy
Asian shares slid Wednesday following another sharp fall on Wall Street as fears spread that the growing virus outbreak will put the brakes on the global economy. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.1% at 2,080.46. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 has lost 7.6% in the last four days since hitting a record high last Wednesday.
- AFP
European stock markets stage modest rebound at open
European stocks rebounded somewhat at the open on Tuesday, after dizzying declines across the globe the day before sparked by fears about the economic fallout of the coronavirus. At the start of trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading blue-chip firms ticked 0.5 percent higher to 7,194.73 points. In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index won 0.6 percent to 13,119.14 points and the Paris CAC 40 also increased 0.6 percent to 5,827.70 compared with the close on Monday.
- Reuters
UK stocks fall further as coronavirus triggers new sell-off
The blue-chip FTSE 100 lost 1.9%, a day after logging its worst session since 2015 with reports of the virus spreading further, notably in Europe and Iran. Only a handful of stocks ended the day in positive territory while banks, consumer goods and energy companies weighed the most on the UK blue chip benchmark. With oil prices slipping below $56 a barrel and falling for a third day, heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell took heavy losses and fell by about 2.2% each.
- Reuters
NMC founder Shetty had pledged 7 million shares against debt
BRS International - said Shetty had pledged the shares to Goldman Sachs as as part of a funded equity collar transaction, a complex structure used to help to build a stake in a company. Shetty resigned as NMC's co-chairman last week, creating further uncertainty for the London-listed UAE company, which has seen its share price collapse in the past few weeks on doubts about the shareholdings of its major investors.
- Associated Press
Asian shares extend losses after Dow drops more than 1,000
Shares are mostly lower in Asia on Tuesday after Wall Street suffered its worst session in two years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumping more than 1,000 points on fears that a viral outbreak that began in China will weaken the world economy. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's main benchmark dropped 2.7% amid a political upheaval after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad offered his resignation to Malaysia's king while his political party quit the ruling alliance. Overnight on Wall Street, traders sought safety in U.S. government bonds, gold and high-dividend stocks like utilities and real estate.
- Financial Times
Markets not live, Monday 24th February 2020
The theme of today is risk-off following a surge in coronavirus cases in Italy, South Korea and Iran over the weekend. Specifically, the frequency of searches for the word “layoffs”, as measured by index, dropped to 935 in the week of 17 February from a recent peak of 1,525 one week earlier, but it was much higher than the monthly average of 557 in January.
- Reuters
FTSE 100 marks worst day since 2015 on virus pandemic fears
The FTSE 100 fell 3.3%, tracking declines across the world, as sharp rises in new cases in Iran, Italy and South Korea raised concerns about a bigger hit to the world economy than previously feared. In the more domestically focused midcap index, some of the biggest decliners were Wizz Air , Tullow Oil and Kaz Minerals .
- Financial Times
Half of British boards expect Brexit to damage business
with the UK are still weighing on corporate confidence. Only a third of companies said that they would increase expenditure this year, down from 43 per cent just six months ago, while more expect expenditure to decline — 18 per cent, compared with 13 per cent in the summer of 2019. Only a fifth plan to increase staff, meanwhile, which is fewer than the 24 per cent who said that they would cut employee numbers.
- FX Empire
The Week Ahead – Economic Data and COVID-19 Updates to Drive the Majors
It’s another busy week ahead. The continued spread of the coronavirus and last week’s dire PMI numbers out of the U.S could get things off to a bad start…
- Associated Press
Stocks sink, Treasury prices soar as investors seek safety
Stocks fell and bond prices rose sharply on Wall Street Friday amid signs that economic fallout from the viral outbreak that originated in China is hurting U.S. companies. The yield on the 30-year Treasury reached a record low as investors sought the safety of U.S. government bonds. New data showing manufacturing and business activity suddenly slowed this month stoked investors' anxiety over the outbreak’s impact on company profits.
- FX Empire
Equities In Retreat, GDP Growth In Danger, Fed Downplays Rate-Cut Outlook
Equities retreat following a surprise pullback in U.S. markets on Thursday. The risk of a coronavirus-driven market correction grow daily.
- FX Empire
European Stocks Pressured by Coronavirus Fears; Euro Zone PMIs Show Better Growth
IHS Markit’s Euro Zone Composite Flash Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), seen as a good gauge of economic health, rose to 51.6 in February from January’s final reading of 51.3, beating all forecasts in a Reuters poll.
- Financial Times
US stocks post weekly drop as investors reach for safety
The yield on the 30-year US Treasury hit a record low and Wall Street posted its first weekly drop in three on Friday as renewed fears about the economic fallout of the coronavirus and disappointing data stirred concerns about the outlook for the US economy. The yield on the US 30-year bond fell below 1.9 per cent for the first time, sinking as much as 7 basis points to a record low of 1.89 per cent on Friday morning, New York time. The yield on the US 10-year was trading at 1.4713 per cent at pixel time.
- Reuters
UK stocks slip as virus fears quell risk appetite
The FTSE 100 slipped 0.4% and marked its second consecutive week in the red after an uptick in new cases of the virus in China and South Korea hit stocks more exposed to commodity prices, including oil majors and miners . "Perhaps the reality of the situation is starting to hit home for investors or maybe, and probably more likely, they're using the slew of (company earnings) warnings to take some profit and risk off the table," OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said. The FTSE 250 was also 0.4% lower, but Daejan Holdings helped cap losses, gaining 55.7% to match its 8050 pence per share offer price.
- AFP
European stocks dip at open
European stock markets fell at the start of trade on Friday with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index down 0.5 percent to 7,398.43 points. In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index also slid 0.5 percent to ...
- Associated Press
World markets slip on renewed fears over virus outbreak
Global stock markets slipped on Friday after a spike in new virus cases in South Korea and other countries refueled investor anxiety about China's disease outbreak. Benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney closed down and London, Frankfurt and other European indexes were trading lower. Bond markets are “sounding a warning on global growth” as virus fears spread to South Korea, Singapore and other economies, DBS analysts said in a report.
- FX Empire
GBP/USD Daily Forecast – Downturn Gains Momentum as Dollar Index Breaks to 21-Month High
GBP/USD has come under pressure this week, despite an upbeat inflation report, as the greenback dominated the major currencies.
- Financial Times
US stocks retreat from record highs
US and European stocks pulled back from record highs, with Wall Street’s main equities gauges at one point tumbling more than 1 per cent. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each closed about 0.4 per cent below Wednesday’s record highs, staging gradual recoveries in the afternoon to recover from drops of as much as 1.3 per cent late in the morning session. “News of deaths in Japan and South Korea due to the virus are leading to concerns that the global supply chain will be impacted in a material way — this can be seen in the price action of the semiconductors companies,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, said.
- Financial Times
Smith & Nephew full-year sales surpass $5bn for first time
Smith & Nephew said revenues have surpassed $5bn for the first time, and it envisages sales increasing this year by up to 4.5 per cent, yet the group faces “additional uncertainty” from the coronavirus outbreak sweeping through Asia. Fourth-quarter revenue for the group that produces joint repair sports medicine rose 8.7 per cent, while for the full year Smith & Nephew generated $5.2bn in sales, up 4.8 per cent from a year earlier. Thursday’s fourth-quarter earnings report is the first under the steerage of Roland Diggelmann, the former Roche Diagnostics boss who stepped into the top role on November 1.
