London open: Stocks fall as investors fret about economic fallout from pandemic

At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 5,751.26.

Stocks in Asia ended in the red after the International Monetary Fund warned that the world economy would suffer its worst recession in 2020 since the Great Depression, with global GDP set to contract by 3%. Meanwhile, the Office for Budget Responsibility said the UK economy could contract by as much as 35% in the second quarter of this year.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said losses in are related to ongoing fears over the depth and length of the recession the world is facing, "including what is going to be a hell of a contraction in Q2 (a taste of which will be provided by China on Friday)".

"This perhaps combined with a report on Tuesday that suggested social distancing measures may have to be intermittently in place until 2022. That Trump - who seems to be having a meltdown - has also halted US funding to the World Health Organisation was just another reason for a sour start to Wednesday."

In equity markets, budget airline easyJet, cruise operator Carnival and hotel chain InterContinental Hotels were among the worst performers amid worries about the impact of the pandemic.

Elsewhere, outsourcer Equiniti slumped after saying it was cancelling its final dividend and withdrawing guidance for the year ending December 2020 due to the virus outbreak.

Corrugated packaging company Smurfit Kappa fell as it hailed a "strong"” first quarter but said it was cancelling its final dividend "in light of the increased macro uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic".

UDG Healthcare lost ground after it said trading in the first half was "strong" but that the second half was set to be hit by the outbreak, as it cancelled its dividend and withdrew guidance.

Jupiter Fund Management slid as it posted a drop in first-quarter total assets under management.

Insurance group Hastings was in the black after saying it still planned to pay its final dividend of 5.5p despite the pandemic and a warning from regulators over payouts during the crisis.

Ferguson was trading flat as it withdrew its interim dividend and suspended its $500m share buyback to conserve cash during the Covid-19 crisis. The plumbing and heating company said trading to the end of March was not materially impacted by the pandemic but that the effect increased significantly in the past 10 days.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,751.26 -0.69%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 15,756.58 -2.03%
techMARK (TASX) 3,443.14 -0.44%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,558.50p 4.98%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,602.20p 2.05%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,970.50p 1.78%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 8,476.00p 1.51%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 185.75p 1.48%
Diageo (DGE) 2,656.00p 1.22%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 7,690.00p 1.10%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 7,940.00p 1.09%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,639.50p 1.08%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 201.50p 0.80%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

easyJet (EZJ) 633.80p -5.37%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 320.10p -4.59%
Carnival (CCL) 871.20p -4.28%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 537.40p -3.80%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,287.00p -3.75%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 30.62p -3.67%
ITV (ITV) 69.88p -3.61%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,370.00p -3.59%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,394.20p -3.52%
Schroders (SDR) 2,498.00p -3.48%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Contour Global (GLO) 163.00p 6.40%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 237.00p 3.72%
JPMorgan American Inv Trust (JAM) 418.00p 1.83%
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) 115.00p 1.77%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 642.00p 1.58%
Ninety One (N91) 172.50p 1.47%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 185.00p 1.37%
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 118.60p 1.37%
3i Infrastructure (3IN) 251.00p 1.21%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 180.40p 1.12%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Premier Oil (PMO) 24.00p -13.26%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 58.00p -9.37%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 183.20p -9.08%
FirstGroup (FGP) 66.75p -8.18%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 130.60p -7.83%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 184.45p -7.78%
William Hill (WMH) 93.00p -7.46%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 70.80p -7.45%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 890.00p -7.39%
Weir Group (WEIR) 825.20p -7.22%