BHP warns of steel production falls, Halma maintains year-end expectations

Stocks to watch

BHP Group warned global steel production excluding China could fall by double digits in percentage terms as the Covid-19 pandemic forced shutdowns. The world's biggest miner reported a 6.3% rise in third-quarter iron ore production and maintained its iron ore forecast despite global economic disruption caused by the outbreak.

Halma updated the market on the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, saying it still expected its adjusted profit before tax for the year ended 31 March to be between £265m and £270m, off revenues of £1.33bn. The FTSE 100 company said its financial position was “robust”, with committed facilities totalling £750m, with an earliest maturity for £74m in January 2021. Currently, Halma said it did not intend to utilise the UK government's Covid Corporate Financing Facility, although it had confirmed its eligibility in principle, subject to establishing an appropriate commercial paper programme.

London Stock Exchange Group said it would pay its final dividend for 2019 as the company reported higher first-quarter profit boosted by increased equity trading and clearing activity. Gross profit for the three months to the end of March rose 13% to £555m as total income increased 13% to £615m. LSE said based on its strong 2019 results and financial position it intended to pay its final dividend subject to approval at Tuesday's annual general meeting.

Newspaper round-up

US oil prices turned negative for the first time on record on Monday after oil producers ran out of space to store the oversupply of crude left by the coronavirus crisis, triggering an historic market collapse which left oil traders reeling. The price of US crude oil crashed from $18 a barrel to -$38 in a matter of hours, as rising stockpiles of crude threatened to overwhelm storage facilities and forced oil producers to pay buyers to take the barrels they could not store. – Guardian

Sales of baking ingredients, frozen vegetables and alcohol are rising while makeup, garden plants and newspapers have taken a hit as the UK changes its shopping habits during the coronavirus crisis. Total sales were up by 1.9% in the week to 5 April compared with the same period last year as the stockpiling peak subsided, according to the market analysts IRI. Before the government imposed lockdown measures, sales were up by as much as 50%. – Guardian

Sir Richard Branson has offered to put Caribbean retreat Necker Island up as collateral in return for a taxpayer-backed bailout of his airline group. The billionaire issued an impassioned plea for governments to save his business empire after admitting he has no “cash in the bank”. In a wide-ranging letter, the Virgin Group founder hit back at criticism for suing the NHS and claims he moved overseas for tax purposes. – Telegraph

Grant Thornton has cut the pay and hours of about 300 UK employees as it seeks to reduce costs without drawing on government support. The accountancy firm — which anticipates that its 2020 profits could be 20 per cent below its previous expectations — said that some teams in areas where the firm was less busy would be working “reduced hours in the short to medium term” in an effort to preserve jobs without drawing on the government’s furlough scheme. – The Times

Two out of three FTSE 100 companies are holding annual meetings behind closed doors this year, with no opportunity for shareholders to hold directors to account by asking them unfiltered questions in real time. Share Action, the shareholder lobby group, criticised companies such as BAE Systems, HSBC and Next, which were giving shareholders no chance to ask questions by live webcasts at the time of the annual meeting. – The Times

US close

US stocks closed lower on Monday following a sharp decline in US crude oil prices.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.44% at 23,650.44, while the S&P 500 was 1.79% weaker at 2,823.16 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.03% softer at 8,560.73.

The Dow closed 592.05 points lower on Monday after wrapping up the previous week in the green for a second consecutive time as sentiment got a boost when Gilead Sciences said patients with severe coronavirus symptoms were quickly recovering after using its 'remdesivir' drug.

However, things took a turn for the worse at the bell on Monday after West Texas Intermediate tumbled, raising questions about just how deep this quarter's economic slowdown will be.

Also in focus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said over the weekend that the state was "past the high point" of new cases, while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House and Congress were close to striking a deal on a second round of loans for small businesses.