Stock markets end wild week with late Wall Street rally – as it happened

Graeme Wearden

from on 2020-03-13 21:31 (#50N6G)

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Latest: Wall Street jumped 9% after national emergency
FTSE 100 gained 2.5% today, in a grim week
275bn wiped off FTSE 100 this week
Coronavirus - latest news
Introduction: Markets reopen after 10% rout on Thursday

9.31pm GMT

And finally... attention is turning to next week, when global policymakers could make a new push to stabilise the world economy.

My colleagues write:

Wall Street is now braced for the Fed to step up its response to the threat posed to the global economy by the pandemic when it meets in Washington on Wednesday.

The US central bank is expected to cut interest rates by at least half a percentage point and announce a fresh wave of the money-creation programme known as quantitative easing as it seeks to revive confidence among traumatised investors. Some analysts predicted that the Fed could go for a full one point off US borrowing costs - currently running in a range of 1% to 1.25% - amid fears that growth in the world's biggest economy could collapse over the coming months as more Americans are infected with the virus.

9.26pm GMT

Here's the scene on Wall Street tonight, as shares surged in late trading:

9.03pm GMT

In another significant move, Trump has pledged to waive interest on federal student loans and purchase crude oil to boost the country's strategic petroleum reserve.

That should push crude prices up next week, potentially reassuring markets worried about Saudi Arabi'a oil price war.

8.28pm GMT

And despite today's late surge, the S&P 500 is still down nearly 9% this week - with the Dow losing 10%. A tough old week for the markets, again.

8.25pm GMT

One good day does not mean the worst is over, of course....

For context, this was the S&P 500's best day since Oct. 28, 2008. At the end of that day, the bottom was more than 4 months away, and there was a 29% fall before hitting the intraday low. pic.twitter.com/fdn6fXJBee

8.11pm GMT

Boom! The US stock market has just posted its best day since 2008 - as Donald Trump declares a national emergency to combat the coronavirus.

The S&P 500 has closed over 9% higher tonight, gaining 230 points to 2,710 thanks to a late rally during Trump's speech.

Look at the stock market and tell me just how dreadful it expected Trump's presser to be

"When America is tested, America rises to the occasion", Trump says. "We are with you every step of the way", he says directly to the public. "With faith and heart and hope and love and determination". pic.twitter.com/Md4fHv8Vop

Trump says that "No nation is more prepared or more equipped to face down this crisis, as you know we are rated number one in the world"

8.04pm GMT

It feels significant that Donald Trump lined up a series of US business leaders for his 'national emergency' press conference. A sign that the public sector and the private sector are going to work together on this crisis.

My colleague Daniel Strauss explains:

Trump moved on to introducing representatives from partner organizations working with the White House to combat the Coronavirus. They include representatives from Walmart, Walgreens, LHC Group, Signify Health.

Most of the business people gave brief remarks about how eager their respective companies are to help.

7.52pm GMT

Stocks are rallying on Wall Street in late trading, as Donald Trump declares a coronavirus national emergency.

7.46pm GMT

After days of downplaying the severity of Covid-19, US president Donald Trump has now declared a national emergency over the pandemic.

Speaking at the White House, Trump says the move will release about $50 billion in federal aid to fight the disease.

BREAKING: Trump has declared a national emergency on the coronavirus pandemic. pic.twitter.com/jlMoMT3Svw

The National Emergency designation will mean $50 billion in funding to address the coronavirus pandemic, and Trump says, "No resources will be spared, nothing whatsoever."

7.26pm GMT

Over on the Financial Times, Katie Martin has written an excellent piece about the market turmoil this week.

As she points out, investors took an age (in financial terms) to wake up to the coronavirus threat, as they were too focused on financial risks. Thus the belated, huge, plunge in stocks when the pandemic risk became obvious.

The equity price falls are striking. But investors are even more unnerved by the fact that the plumbing behind markets started to creak this week. In particular, the most important market in the world - US government bonds - appeared to be short-circuiting. Every experienced trader will tell you that Treasuries "should" be rallying while stock markets slide, providing a hedge to those who want one. But they are not, in part because of banks' unwillingness to act as go-betweens.

"To me, it feels worse than 2008, more like the LTCM crisis," one hedge fund manager said. The "total lack of liquidity in so-called liquid products" means some funds will probably not survive this crisis, he added. That, plus the stress in US high-yield bonds, could topple more dominoes. If funds fail, they will have to sell more assets. If companies fail, banks and funds will be on the hook. Markets would be forced to keep pricing in more and more pain.

coronavirus is not just the flu and the markets are not not just in a correctionhttps://t.co/rbbs09poSp

7.13pm GMT

The last week has been a story that investors, journalists and economists will tell their grandchildren about (and mightily bored they'll be!)

Although we've not actually seen any companies collapse, thank goodness, it has otherwise been just as gripping as the 2008 crisis.

As weeks go they don't get much more dramatic than this one. Rate cuts (in the case of the Bank of England at least), more QE (in the case of the ECB), sizeable (and in some cases not-costed) fiscal easing from the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, even Germany promising a stimulus plan and wild swings in the equity markets (especially in Italy).

COVID-19 should continue to play havoc with economies and markets, health and wellbeing, in the weeks to come and we feel justified in having axed our growth and inflation forecasts this week, alongside adding to our expectations of monetary easing.

7.08pm GMT

A glimpse at the FTSE 100 leaderboard today shows that miners, online grocer Ocado and takeaway firm Just Eat had a good day, but travel companies, housebuilders and retailers struggled.

6.48pm GMT

Here's a reminder of this week's turmoil on the London stock market - which saw the worst day since 2008 on Monday, and the worst since 1987 on Thursday.

6.46pm GMT

Currency analyst Michael Brown of Caxton FX reckons there's a big scramble for US dollars.... and problems finding enough US government debt.

Today's $USD move is crazy - such a scramble for dollars, seems to be major liquidity shortages going on

Also, reports of widening spreads and illiquidity in #treasuries, while dealers appear unable to take-up the #Fed's repo ops due to capital requirements

The #coronavirus pandemic is not only exposing economic frailties, it also looks to be unearthing structural issues across asset classes

6.29pm GMT

After today's rally, all Europe's stock markets were a healthy shade of green.

But since the start of 2020, they're flashing red - with losses of almost 30% since January 1. The coronavirus has already inflicted serious financial costs, well before the full economic and personal harm has taken place.

6.17pm GMT

6.16pm GMT

Back on Wall Street, the rally is holding pretty firm.

The main indices are all up around 4% today, a huge move in normal times, but rarely worth a second blink in the current climate of fear.

6.13pm GMT

Companies across America have been taking steps to address the coronavirus pandemic this week, with many such as AT&T and JP Morgan activating home work policies.

But the long-term economic impact of the shuttering of America will take weeks if not longer to assess.

5.51pm GMT

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, agrees that the last week was a nightmare for savers and investors - large and small.

"Individuals with cash in the bank were struck by news of interest rate cuts meaning returns on variable rate accounts are now next to nothing.

"As for investors, they just experienced the worst period for stock markets since the 1987 crash and the 2008 global financial crisis.

"The German government said it would offer unlimited credit to companies affected by coronavirus disruption. This followed a pledge on Thursday by the US Federal Reserve to pump trillions of dollars into the financial system.

"China cut reserve requirements for banks to ease borrowing conditions for companies and central banks in other parts of the world rolled up their sleeves. Japan announced plans to buy nearly $2 billion of dollars of government bonds and Norway followed many other countries by cutting interest rates.

4.59pm GMT

The best thing we can say about this week in the City is that it's over.

Both the UK and European stock markets have just endured their worst week since 2008

4.53pm GMT

After all that early morning excitement, the London stock market has closed with rather less drama.

The FTSE 100 index has recovered less than a quarter of Thursday's bleak losses. It's closed 128 points higher at 5366, a gain of 2.5%. Mining companies BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto gained over 10%, with steel maker Evraz 12% higher.

4.46pm GMT

Phew! After Thursday's historic slump, European stock markets have posted a small, modest recovery.

The Stoxx 600 index of the largest 600 European companies has closed around 1.4% higher. Italy's FTSE MIB (+7%) and Spain's IBEX (+3.8%) led the way, after both country's banned some short-selling.

4.41pm GMT

The leading German business daily, Handelsblatt, is reporting that Lufthansa, the nation's flagship airline will apply to the German government's multi-billion liquidity fund for help due to the financial fall-out from the coronavirus.
In an internal video message to Lufthansa employees, the CEO Carten Spohr said the company would look to the German government for help, as well as entering discussions with governments in the other countries where it has a subsidiary, about possible state aid.

A spokesman for the company, Europe's largest-grossing airline which last week announced it would cut its flights by 50 per cent in response to the health crisis, confirmed the reports.
Spohr is due to participate in an emergency meeting with chancellor Angela Merkel and other industry bosses this evening at which the impact of the coronavirus on the German economy will be on the agenda. Thomas Jarzombek, the air industry coordinator in the government, has called representatives of the industry to a meeting this coming Monday, to discuss how to reduce the economic fallout. Jarzombek said the main aim was to work out what the air industry, just like other branches of industry, needed to get through the crisis. Jarzombek said: "The government is providing various instruments in order to help in cases of short term liquidity bottlenecks," he said, citing various government lending programmes.

"If the need is there, they can be extended at short notice, be made more flexible or deployed in new ways."

4.30pm GMT

Germany has announced "unlimited" aid to see businesses through the coronavirus crisis, with a starter plan of half a trillion euros.

Finance minister Olaf Scholz said there was no upper limit to credit on offer from the state-owned KfW development bank.
The government unleashed a550bn (492bn) in government backed loans, which economy minister Peter Altmaier said was "just for starters".

He vowed that no healthy company would find itself in trouble:

"We will reload our weapons if necessary."

"This is just the news that can stop the downward spiral."

4.22pm GMT

Just in: Insurance giant AVIVA has suspended travel insurance sales, following other industry players.

It says that travel insurance is designed to cover unforeseen events, while Coronavirus is a known event which creates a high likelihood that customers' travel plans will be affected.

Wow. Aviva stopped selling travel insurance this afternoon pic.twitter.com/al4FoB6ZWr

4.14pm GMT

Investors are piling back into the US dollar...usually a sign that they're getting panicky.

This dash for the greenback has driven the plucky British pound down below $1.24, the lowest since Boris Johnson agreed the new Brexit deal in October 2019.

3.59pm GMT

So much for the rally! The UK stock market is subsiding in the final hour.

Traders must be getting edgy about what might happen this weekend, with Covid-19 cases continuing to rise in Europe and UK.

Following my call with @realDonaldTrump and all G7 leaders, we agreed to organize an extraordinary Leaders Summit by videoconference on Monday on Covid-19. We will coordinate research efforts on a vaccine and treatments, and work on an economic and financial response.

2.59pm GMT

Back on Wall Street, the early rally is fading a little.

Stock are still up, with the Dow 520 points higher or 2.5% at 21,720. But after losing an incredible 2,350 points last night, investors were hoping for a stronger recovery.

Only 11% to go before we're limit down:#DOW 21788 +3.08%#SPX 2567 +3.82%#NASDAQ 7505 +3.43%#RUSSELL 1138 +1.66%#FANG 2892 +2.76%

2.36pm GMT

Lloyds Banking Group has been forced to shut two of its offices this week, affecting nearly 2,000 staff, after discovering the first coronavirus cases across its workforce.
Around 450 staff at its Edinburgh Citymark building are currently being asked to self-isolate, work from home or work from an alternative emergency site after a colleague was diagnosed with the virus. That site, where some of its tech and digitally-focused staff are based, remains closed.
A Lloyds spokeswoman said:

"The Edinburgh Citymark building will be temporarily closed to allow for the appropriate areas of the site to be cleaned, after a colleague based there was diagnosed with COVID-19.

"Our priority is the wellbeing of the individual, as well as the colleagues and visitors to the building. We're closely monitoring the developing situation and continue to follow official guidelines."

2.34pm GMT

Veteran investor Warren Buffett has cancelled his annual shareholder meeting, due to the health risks of Covid-19.

The Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting usually attracts tens of thousands of small investors to Nebraska, keen to hear from the Sage of Omaha. Buffett is always good value, dispensing wise advice about investing in good times and bad ones.

2.18pm GMT

British Airways got some grim news today - some will lose their jobs before this crisis is over.

The airline's chief executive, Alex Cruz, told them that it faces "a crisis of global proportions like no other we have known" and that lay-offs were inevitable... "perhaps for a short period, perhaps longer term".

1.57pm GMT

The head of the European commission Ursula von der Leyen has described the coronavirus as "a major shock" to Europe's economies, as she promised a multi-billion euro fund to handle the fallout.

"We will do whatever is necessary to support the Europeans and the European economy."

1.53pm GMT

Tech stocks and financial companies are leading the recovery in New York.

Bank of America and Citigroup are up 7%, as Wall Street tries to put its worse day since 1987 behind it.

1.38pm GMT

BOOM! Stocks on Wall Street have rocketed higher at the start of trading.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average, and the Nasdaq all surged by 6% as the opening bell rang out in New York.

U.S. STOCKS EXTEND GAINS, DOW JONES UP 6.01%

NASDAQ UP 408.37 POINTS, OR 5.67 PERCENT, AT 7,610.17 AFTER MARKET OPEN

DOW JONES UP 1,204.57 POINTS, OR 5.68 PERCENT, AT 22,405.19 AFTER MARKET OPEN

S&P 500 UP 129.38 POINTS, OR 5.22 PERCENT, AT 2,610.02 AFTER MARKET OPEN

1.26pm GMT

Tension is building on Wall Street, with shares expected to surge at the open following Thursday's shocking losses.

With the futures contracts suspended, after jumping 5% overnight, who knows how the Dow and the S&P 500 will perform in a few minutes?

NEWS: Secretary Mnuchin says that Treasury and Fed "have many authorities" and that they are looking to use them. pic.twitter.com/biUKXICQX0

"There will be liquidity available" ... Mnuchin tries to calm the market in soft, soothing tones. https://t.co/7o2yEyBaCS

1.18pm GMT

Germany has pledged to boost government spending to support its economy through the Covid-19 pandemic, breaking its long adherence to fiscal restraint and balanced budgets.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told a press conference in Berlin:

"We have the financial strength to deal with this crisis. There is enough money there and we are deploying it. We are using all necessary measures to protect workers and companies."

Here's a headline I never thought I'd see: Germany Pledges Unlimited Cash as EU Set to Green Light Spending https://t.co/V2JVdDPtZL

1.16pm GMT

Although the stock market is surging, the City is eerily quiet.

1.05pm GMT

Talks about a potential US stimulus package are continuing in Washington....

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have spoken on the phone about an economic relief package to help protect the US people from the coronavirus economic shock.

.@SpeakerPelosi & Secretary Mnuchin spoke briefly this morning by phone at 8:22 a.m.

If you want to get money into the hands of people quickly & efficiently, let them have the full money that they earned, APPROVE A PAYROLL TAX CUT until the end of the year, December 31. Then you are doing something that is really meaningful. Only that will make a big difference!

12.51pm GMT

The bounceback is gathering pace in the City, with the FTSE 100 now up over 8% today - a gain of 430 points.

Mining giants are leading the way, with BHP, Anglo and Glencore up around 15% each.

12.15pm GMT

Another dramatic Wall Street session looms.....

U.S. stock index futures rebounded from the worst sell-off in 30 years, surging to exchange-mandated levels that prevent further gains as hopes for a more robust policy response increase https://t.co/BO5mSTJBdg pic.twitter.com/pI9vOQb9Ij

12.09pm GMT

Newsflash: The Bank of England has released the minutes of its emergency meeting this week, when it voted to cut UK interest rates from 0.75% to 0.25%

They show that the Monetary Policy Committee believes UK economic activity will "weaken materially" over the coming months. It expects to learn more about the economic shock of Covid-19 in the weeks and months ahead.

12.05pm GMT

A reminder that the markets have been here before (and will doubtless be here again):

Love this chart by @MacroCharts and a few other $VIX charts floating around showing volatility went as high as other historic panics.

1929 The Great Depression
1987 Black Monday
2008 Global Financial Crisis
2020 Corona Virus pic.twitter.com/etYYLhj8Te

11.59am GMT

The FTSE 100 index is surging higher, up 7.3% today on hopes of international co-operation and a US stimulus package.

The blue-chip index has now gained 383 points, taking it back to 5620 and away from last night's seven-year low.

11.55am GMT

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have conversations with other world leaders on Friday regarding the global response to the coronavirus outbreak, his spokesman said.

He added that planning staff from the Ministry of Defence would help local authorities work out how to support public services so they can deal with the outbreak (via Reuters).

11.42am GMT

The US stock market is expected to rally strongly when trading begins in a couple of hours.

Trading in Dow and S&P 500 futures has been frozen 'limit-up' at +5% -- meaning the market is likely to jump by more than 5% when the opening bell rings.

11.34am GMT

From the Footsie to the footie....

The Italian short-selling ban will include shares in two storied football clubs - Juventus and Lazio. Their revenues will be hit now Serie A games are being played behind closed doors.

10.59am GMT

Three hours in, and the European rally is holding firm.

10.44am GMT

Up to 50 million people in the travel and holiday sector could lose their jobs due to the coronavirus, an industry body warned today.

The World Travel and Tourism Council fears that demand for international travel could slump by 25% this year -- causing 12-14% of workers in the sector to be laid off.

ai #PressRelease: Coronavirus puts up to 50 million #Travel & #Tourism jobs at risk.

Read more: https://t.co/Oyf7CWn1KV. pic.twitter.com/4xtgRf8AjC

10.26am GMT

Another central bank has eased monetary policy - and this time it's China.

The People's Bank of China is allowing Chinese banks to hold less capital in reserve, freeing up more funds to support their customers.

People's Bank of #China statement on the 50-100bp cuts: https://t.co/p88fmrOizE @steveliesman pic.twitter.com/noG9PIpdST

10.15am GMT

The Spanish stock market authorities have also banned the short-selling of some stocks, which has pushed the IBEX index up 5% this morning.

But curbing speculation won't fix the looming economic crisis, as Pierre Veyret of ActivTrades writes:

Share markets are rebounding slightly on Friday in an attempt of a price stabilization following the worst sell-off since the 1987 crisis. This bullish opening on EU shares has been boosted by the decision from Spanish and Italian regulators to ban short-selling on certain stocks, with these two benchmarks currently the best performers in the eurozone.

However, the uncertainty persists on risky assets as coronavirus cases and the associated death toll continues to soar. The virus is spreading fear and panic further across the world and putting pressure on entire industries. Covid-19 has already slowed several businesses down and investors remain worried stimulus by central banks won't be enough to offset the negative impacts across the world. Markets are now entering an irrational-like state with prices heading for their worst week since 2008. Most stock traders now have one major question in mind: where's the bottom?

10.03am GMT

The Bank of Japan's pledge to keep the markets flush with liquidity is helping markets recover, reckons IG's Sara Walker.

Ok, so markets taking positives from #BoJ and hopes of more #stimulus to offset impact of #CoronavirusPandemic for more analysis on whats moving:https://t.co/OVx3j6H8nb pic.twitter.com/oO5xP9qRVe

10.01am GMT

Gracious, it's choppy in the City today.

The FTSE 100 is clambering higher, up 210 points or 4% to 5452 after two hours of trading.

9.58am GMT

A reminder of Australia's wild trading session overnight:

Australian stucks were down a fraction more than 8% at one point today. They closed up 4%.

Call that a volatile market? THIS is a volatile market. pic.twitter.com/ih3ZGTdeG0

9.46am GMT

There's always a danger that stock market rebounds are merely 'dead cat bounces' -- a swift, but short recovery before another tumble.

Fiona Cincotta of City Index has sent this chart over, showing how recent rises (white blocks) have been followed by sharper falls (the black blocks).

After stocks experienced the worst sell of since Black Monday over 3 decades ago, there is a sense that the market has more than priced in the negative impact that coronavirus headwinds could bring. Let's not forget that China has recorded the lowest level of infections with just 8 new confirmed cases. This proves that with containment measures such as lock down, strict quarantine and travel restriction it is possible for a country to rebound and relatively quickly. China has sent a specialist team to Italy to help get control over the outbreak. There is light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel, which in Europe and US we are just entering.

However, the chart is not quite so convincing. Any stronger starts that we have seen this week have not been sustained into the afternoons so there is plenty of caution on trading floors this morning.

9.28am GMT

Italy's stock market is having a better day, with the FTSE MIB index up almost 5% this morning.

The overnight ban on short-selling may be helping, as it prevents speculators driving a firm's share price down.

9.25am GMT

France's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, is trying to calm the markets too.

He told the BFM TV channel that Paris will support companies in which the government holds shares, pledging:

"We will help all companies in which the state has a stake, Air France, Renault.

What ever it costs we will be at their side and will support them.

Bruno Le Maire estime que la fermeture des frontiires aux Europi(C)ens par Trump "est une aberration" pic.twitter.com/OwbLhIk0H6

9.11am GMT

An hour into the trading session, the FTSE 100 is 2% higher at 5347.

That's 109 points higher than last night's close (when the Footsie slumped 10% to its lowest point since 2012), but down on the 8am bounce.

"The story in Asia Pacific markets overnight was one of extreme volatility. Aussies stocks endured a real boomerang of a session - the more than 12% swing from its low point to an eventual 4.4% gain reflects just how frazzled investors are just now. Asia also saw see-saw trading - with most markets ultimately rebounding from their lows.

"The VIX volatility index suggests markets are as jittery as they have been at any time since the financial crisis.

9.00am GMT

Japan's central bank has announced it will take steps to boost the amount of liquidity in the markets.

This will include the use of 'repo' operations -- where a central bank provides cash in exchange for collateral such as government bonds. This would prevent a bank running out of liquidity, if other banks were too nervous to lend to it.

The Bank of Japan said on Friday that it would provide "ample liquidity" using market operations and maintain stability in the repo market to help stablise financial markets.

The BOJ also said in a statement that it had conducted unscheduled purchase of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) on Friday.

8.50am GMT

Norway's central bank has slashed interest rates this morning, in an unexpected move to protect its economy from Covid-19.

The emergency move cut Norwegian interest rates from 1.5% to 1%, and follows unscheduled rate cuts in the UK, US and Canada in recent days.

"There is considerable uncertainty about the duration and impact of the coronavirus outbreak, with a risk of a pronounced economic downturn..

In a surprise move, Norway's central bank has cuts rates by 50bp. @SmithEconomics reckons there could be morehttps://t.co/c3Q6ewSGiD pic.twitter.com/j5VwpKlmTM

8.42am GMT

Hmmm... this morning's rally is losing more momentum - with the FTSE 100 now up around one hundred points still (nearly 2%).

As Connor Campbell of SpreadEx puts it:

Driven by its miners - Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Anglo American were all up between 9% and 12% - the FTSE climbed 100 points to just about cross 5450.

That already marks a sharp pull back from the 6%-plus bounce seen in the moments after the open, suggesting that equities have a job on their hands convincing investors to stick with them until closing time.

8.40am GMT

Savers and pension holders will welcome any rally today.

But today's rebound looks rather unimpressive, in the context of the last few days:

8.28am GMT

After that early surge, the UK and other European markets have stabilised up around 3% to 4%.

8.23am GMT

Britain's FTSE 250 index of medium-sized firms is also rallying, but with less oomph than its big sibling.

The FTSE 250 has gained almost 2% in early trading. But Cineworld (which might breach its banking covenants if forced to close cinemas) are down 13%, and Restaurant Group (Frankie & Bennies, Wagamama) are down another 5%.

8.13am GMT

European stock markets are also recovering, after a historic 10% plunge on Thursday.

Germany's DAX has risen by 3.5% at the open, with financial stocks such as Deutsche Bank (+7%) and Commerzbank (+11%) among the risers.

8.10am GMT

Shares are surging back in London, as the stock market reopens after Thursday's rout.

A massive early burst of buying has lifting the market back up from last night's seven-year lows.

8.05am GMT

Covid-19 has reached Britain's business leaders.

Telecoms firm BT's CEO, Philip Jansen, has tested positive for the virus -- making him (we think) the first publicly confirmed case among FTSE 100 bosses. He's now self-isolating, and keeping working.

"Having felt slightly unwell, I decided as a precaution to be tested. As soon as the test results were known I isolated myself at home,"

"I've met several industry partners this week, so felt it was the responsible thing to do to alert them to this fact as soon as I could.

8.02am GMT

Stock market regulators are taking steps to shore up the markets.

Overnight, Italy's watchdog announced a temporary short-selling ban on some stocks - to prevent speculators from selling shares they don't own (and buying them back cheaper). Britain's FCA says the move will also affect Italian banks traded in the City.

U.K. financial regulator restricts short selling of some Italian shares to try to limit the dramatic slide in the Milan market

SOUTH KOREA TO BAN STOCK SHORT-SELLING FOR 6 MONTHS

7.49am GMT

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

World markets are in panic mode, after the worst day since 1987 on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday.

After an historic #selloff selloff, markets look set to open positive, with #FTSE showing gains of over 3% in IG OOH markets.https://t.co/ehtp5hoplm #CoronavirusPandemic #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/Mwx7JEkQS3

The FTSE 100 tanked 640 points yesterday to the lowest levels in more than seven years. The 30-billion-pound fiscal support, the 50-basis-point interest rate cut, nor the additional monetary stimulus package helped improving appetite in British stocks. Banks, energy and mining stocks lost big.

Trading on FTSE futures (+3.30%) hint that the British blue-chip index may lick its wounds today. Cheaper sterling and steady oil should give some support to the index, but gains remain fragile.

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