London open: Stocks plunge again as US stimulus deal stalls
It was a bloodbath again in London's equity markets amid growing concerns about the impact of the coronavirus, with US Senate deadlock over stimulus souring the mood further as investors waded through another deluge of Covid-19 updates.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 4.6% at 4,951.09.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Europe’s meagre rebound managed at the end of last week was quickly wiped out come Monday morning, as investors woke up to partisan deadlock over the proposed US stimulus plan.
"Arguing, in the words of Chuck Schumer, that the $1.8 trillion package is a ‘large corporate bailout with no protections for workers and virtually no oversight’, the Democrats blocked the bill on Sunday night, with a 47-47 split leaving it short of the required 60 votes.
"Even if the reasons behind the Democrats’ intransigence are sound, America’s inability to move things forwards stands in contrast to many of its now free-spending peers, and has sent the market into another tailspin."
On the corporate front, the Covid-19 updates kept rolling in.
Oil giant Shell was in the red after saying it was cutting capital expenditure, underlying operating costs and postponing the next phase of its share buyback to conserve cash in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said it would cut underlying operating costs by $3bn - $4bn a year over the next 12 months compared to 2019 levels and reduce cash capital expenditure to $20bn or below for 2020 from a planned level of around $25bn.
Associated British Foods slumped as it said Primark's decision to close all its stores will cost £650m a month in lost sales. ABF said it was cutting costs at Primark and that these measures together with government support should allow it to recover about half of operating costs.
Broadcaster ITV lost ground after it scrapped its dividend and withdrew market guidance as the coronavirus crisis ate into advertising revenues and forced the broadcaster to put productions on hold.
Transport operator Stagecoach slid as it issued a profit warning and said it was unlikely to pay any further dividends as the coronavirus pandemic hit passenger numbers.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 4,951.09 -4.62%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 12,764.86 -6.09%
techMARK (TASX) 2,943.37 -4.05%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Whitbread (WTB) 2,320.00p -0.90%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 111.34p -1.05%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 6,781.00p -1.60%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,290.40p -1.60%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,480.00p -2.38%
BT Group (BT.A) 122.58p -2.78%
Sage Group (SGE) 539.60p -2.88%
Fresnillo (FRES) 578.40p -2.89%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,674.00p -2.90%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 113.40p -2.95%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 315.30p -16.85%
Ferguson (FERG) 3,940.00p -15.38%
ITV (ITV) 55.02p -12.89%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 819.80p -12.17%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 322.80p -10.18%
Informa (INF) 343.30p -9.97%
Barclays (BARC) 80.31p -9.78%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,031.00p -9.37%
Rightmove (RMV) 382.00p -9.24%
CRH (CRH) 1,616.50p -8.93%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 674.00p 3.69%
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 95.00p 1.60%
Workspace Group (WKP) 645.50p 0.70%
Greencore Group (GNC) 134.45p 0.37%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 107.80p 0.00%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 51.75p 0.00%
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 87.60p 0.00%
Ninety One (N91) 157.32p 0.00%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 1,194.00p 0.00%
Biffa (BIFF) 256.00p 0.00%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TP ICAP (TCAP) 160.25p -47.09%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 46.10p -34.24%
IWG (IWG) 125.90p -21.31%
Rank Group (RNK) 88.50p -20.84%
Provident Financial (PFG) 138.10p -20.03%
National Express Group (NEX) 110.00p -17.60%
Weir Group (WEIR) 626.80p -15.55%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 43.96p -15.23%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 103.20p -14.85%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 273.00p -13.55%