FTSE climbs amid hopes of improving coronavirus situation in China

FTSE climbs slightly by 0.63% up 35 points to 5,489 amid hopes that worst of coronavirus outbreak may have passed for China

  • FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest firms rises 35 points or 0.63% to 5,489 today
  • But investors are still fearful of long-term impact of the pandemic and lockdown
  • It follows sharp drop on Wall Street as infection rate fast approaches one million  
  • Traders also worry over countries tightening already strict lockdown measures

London stock markets opened slightly up this morning amid faint hopes that the worst of the coronavirus outbreak may have now passed for China.

The FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest companies rose 35 points or 0.63 per cent to 5,489 in early trading today, although investors are still fearful of the long-term impact of the pandemic and lockdown.

It followed a sharp drop on Wall Street yesterday as the infection rate fast approaches one million amid a rising US death toll. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 4.4 per cent or 974 points to close at 20,944 in New York yesterday.

Traders across the world are also concerned that countries are being forced to tighten already strict lockdown measures aimed at containing the virus.

But China and South Korea have shown signs of controlling the virus, reporting falling numbers of new cases, although progress remains fragile.

PAST TWO DAYS: The FTSE 100 index in London dropped yesterday after rising on Tuesday

THIS WEEK: The FTSE 100 index inished last Friday, following a rise of 6 per cent overall last week.

LAST WEEK: The FTSE 100 index finished at 5,510 last Friday, rising 6 per cent overall last week

And the World Health Organization said the global case count will reach 1 million and the death toll 50,000 in the next few days. It currently stands at 46,906.

It follows the FTSE sliding 3.8 per cent or 217 points yesterday to close down at 5,455 – after two days of gains earlier this week and a 6 per cent rise last week.

Gains in global markets have been fuelled over the past fortnight by trillions of pounds in stimulus and widespread monetary easing by central banks.

Meanwhile the price of oil rose amid hints of an end to the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.4 per cent overnight.

People walk past an electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index outside a bank today

People walk past an electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index outside a bank today

Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force has warned the US could see almost a quarter of a million deaths and the President warned of a ‘horrific’ couple of weeks ahead.

His sobering comments came as a number of countries said they would extend lockdowns, which have already gouged economies around the world.

Adding to the unease on trading floors was a report saying China had masked the true extent of the virus in the country, which is just ending an extended shutdown.

John Porter, at Mellon Investments Corporation, told Bloomberg TV: ‘The incremental news on the virus in the last 24 to 48 hours has been disappointing.

Donald Trump's coronavirus task force has warned the US could see almost 250,000 deaths and the President (in Washington DC yesterday) warned of a 'horrific' couple of weeks ahead

Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force has warned the US could see almost 250,000 deaths and the President (in Washington DC yesterday) warned of a ‘horrific’ couple of weeks ahead 

‘The global economy has hit a wall, there’s a tremendous amount of uncertainty, and that’s contributing to the volatility in the markets and the downward trajectory we’ve seen the last few days.’

Meanwhile Kay Van-Petersen, global macro strategist at Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore, added: ‘My viewpoint is that we’re still in a bear market and the US is not even close to pricing in the massive economic dislocation, let alone the deaths they’re going to find.’

US labour market data will likely provide the next test of market sentiment and of the visible pain in the real economy.

Initial claims for jobless benefits last week probably surpassed the week-ago record of 3.3million, with 3.5million expected, according to a survey of economists.