Investors know what to do when interest rates are cut: buy shares | Nils Pratley

Share prices did better today but it would be ridiculous to say the market's mood has improved

As dead cat bounces go, though, Monday was more of a twitch. The FTSE 100 index, having fallen 11% last week, regained just 1.1%, even as central bankers around the world lined up to echo the US Federal Reserve's line about acting "as appropriate". Share prices did better in the US during London hours, but it would be ridiculous to say the market's mood has improved definitively.

The problem for investors struggling to feel where "fair value" might lie in a post-coronavirus world is twofold. First, monetary measures are of limited use in tackling a economic shock caused by the spread of a virus.