Stock markets make historic gains as US and G7 pledge coronavirus fightback - as it happened

Graeme Wearden (earlier) and Jasper Jolly

from Economics | The Guardian on 2020-03-24 17:55 (#515A9)

Covid-19 sparks global recession fears but stimulus hopes help stock markets to rebound

Latest: Wall Street rallies on stimulus hopes
G7: We'll do what's necessary
FTSE 100 records second-best day in history; record for FTSE 250
UK, eurozone and Japan PMI surveys show economies slumping
Coronavirus - latest updates
See all our coronavirus coverage

5.55pm GMT

We are going to close down this blog after another historic day for global business and markets. Here are some of the main developments:

5.28pm GMT

BT-owned Openreach, which controls the UK's broadband network, has halted all new broadband connections to keep engineers out of homes.

5.19pm GMT

A look at the historical comparisons for the US markets makes for similarly amazing reading, with only 2008, 1987's Black Monday and the Great Depression as suitable comparisons.

The Dow Jones industrial average's gain of 9.3% today would put it in the top 10 best days on the index, if those gains hold.

4.57pm GMT

The closing auction more than confirmed that historically strong FTSE 100 performance... it propelled the index to its second best day in history.

The FTSE 100 ended up by 9.05%, a 452-point gain!

GERMANY'S DAX RISES 11%, BIGGEST ONE-DAY GAIN SINCE NOV. 2008

- it means we are in 2008. One day up, three weeks down.

4.46pm GMT

The late rally on the FTSE 100 has given it the strongest gain since 2008, the last time the world was threatened by a global recession.

If confirmed in the closing auction today's 7.48% gain on London's blue chip index would be the biggest since 24 November 2008.

4.34pm GMT

It looks like there was a late rally on the FTSE 100 - matching gains elsewhere.

The preliminary closing reading (which will likely be adjusted) showed a 7.5% gain - more than 370 points today. The FTSE rally may have been prompted in part by a slight retreat in the pound, which is now up by 1.6% for the day against the US dollar.

4.27pm GMT

A private jet due to arrive at Doncaster Sheffield airport on Tuesday evening contains aid from China for the UK, writes the Guardian's Rob Davies.

4.18pm GMT

In fact, sterling is on course for its biggest one-day jump against the dollar for a year.

There could be more to come for the pound, according to Dean Turner, UK economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. He said:

As the rate of infections continues to rise, the news flow is all one-way. And sentiment in the markets is following. But we should not lose sight of the fact that this crisis will pass. Indeed, amid all the negative news, the success in containing the coronavirus in China and other Asian countries is being overlooked. And this is where the coordinated policy response will really matter. Assuming that firms and workers emerge from the crisis relatively unscathed, fiscal and monetary easing should lay the foundation for a swift rebound for the economy.

An economic recovery, when it materializes, is not consistent with the pound at its current levels. A number of factors have prompted the pound's slump. Demand for safe-haven dollars is one, but the UK's reliance on the "kindness of strangers" is also important given its large current account deficit.

4.14pm GMT

The US dollar has surged in recent weeks as companies have scrambled to find the reserve currency wherever they could - even if that meant the forced selling of safe-haven assets such as Treasury bonds that they might otherwise have wanted to hold.

But the Federal Reserve and other central banks appear to have sated that appetite, and the dollar has fallen back.

The US Federal Reserve's efforts to shield the economy from the effects of the coronavirus have - for now - slowed a scramble for dollars that threatened to clog funding markets.

The dollar had gained almost 9% in 11 days in the rush for cash, but it fell on Tuesday, at one point to its weakest since 19 March. Measures of demand for dollars signalled that many businesses and banks felt they had enough for now.

3.56pm GMT

EDF Energy plans to cut the 4,000-strong workforce at the Hinkley Point C nuclear construction site by more than half after an outcry over plans to continue construction despite national efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The company said it would scale back the number of worker on Britain's biggest construction site to less than 2,000 over the coming days after the prime minister told Britons they "must stay at home" through a 21-day lockdown.

3.53pm GMT

If you are among our British readers you were probably watching the prime minister last night as he announced lockdown.

Boris Johnson's national address on the coronavirus lock down drew 27.5m across all TV channels. Context: Apollo 13 successful splash down managed 28.6m in 1970, while the Eastenders ep when Dirty Den served Angie divorce papers drew 30m on Christmas Day 1986.

3.39pm GMT

The Wall Street gains have also gained a little bit of steam (although a rocky ride may not be out of the question today, given past wrangling over the details of the stimulus).

The benchmark S&P 500 has gained 6.8% so far on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average has now gained 7.7% today, taking it back above 20,000 points. The Nasdaq has gained 6%.

3.32pm GMT

The prospect of a big fiscal stimulus from the US is doing the trick for equity markets around the world, as well as on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 in London is up by 6.6% back to 5,320 points, while the Dax in Germany is pushing 8%.

3.26pm GMT

Back in construction, Multiplex has become the first major contractor to shut sites voluntarily.

(We reported earlier that the housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has also decided to close all its building sites, show homes and sale centres).

3.17pm GMT

Lloyds Banking Group has suspended plans to cut 780 bank branch staff, as it deals with both a surge in customers needing emergency financing and uncertainty over the number of staff needing to self-isolate.

It's yet another example of how companies are having to make u-turns amid these unprecedented circumstances.

We have stopped the structure changes which were due to take place in our customer facing branch teams (announced 26th February) because now is not the right time, either for colleagues or for customers.

3.16pm GMT

More UK factories are shutting up shop as companies digest the implications of the coronavirus lockdon.

We are taking this action to ensure the safety of our workforce in light of the latest government advice and so that the company is well placed to resume operations as smoothly as possible in the future.

2.58pm GMT

Data tracking service Now-Casting has crunched today's economic data...and concluded that Europe is topping into recession fast:

A number of economic indicators are out today and the @NowCastingIdeas live model has been crunching numbers to track the European economies.

They're all nosediving into recession. Not unexpected but still impressive. pic.twitter.com/gHZHBSLqbU

2.55pm GMT

European commissioner Paolo Gentiloni (a former Italian PM) has tweeted about the G7 conference call today:

At the #G7 conference call clear commitment for coordination to respond to the global health and economic impacts of #COVID-19. I shared with finance ministers the strong decisions already taken by #Eu institutions and member states

2.44pm GMT

Andrew Hunter of Capital Economics says today's grim survey of US purchasing managers shows America is heading towards a severe contraction in the next few months.

On past form, the composite PMI is consistent with GDP contracting at a 5% annualised pace, which would be one of the biggest quarterly declines on record. But with the virus continuing to spread rapidly and the lockdowns already in place across parts of the country only likely to be extended, we now suspect that the second-quarter hit will be substantially larger than that.

This further underlines the need for a major fiscal stimulus, if only to help underpin an eventual recovery when the virus is brought under control.

The US and Euro area economies are following in China's wake in response the Covid-19 shock. The composite output PMIs probably have further to fall. pic.twitter.com/d1h0rFIXMu

2.10pm GMT

NEWSFLASH: America's private sector is shrinking at the fastest rate since at least the financial crisis in 2008.

The latest survey of US purchasing managers, from IHS Markit, shows that activity in the U.S. services and manufacturing sectors contracted sharply in March.

Preliminary US Markit Composite PMI for March plunged -9.1 points to 40.5, a record low, and biggest one-month drop in over a decade, signaling severe economic contraction. pic.twitter.com/9fVhOJNBwZ

"US companies reported the steepest downturn since 2009 in March as measures to limit the COVID-19 outbreak hit businesses across the country.

The service sector has been especially badly affected, with consumer-facing industries such as restaurants, bars and hotels bearing the brunt of the social distancing measures, while travel and tourism has been decimated. However, manufacturing is also reporting a slump in demand, with production falling at a rate not seen since 2009, linked to either weak client demand, lost exports or supply shortages.

1.54pm GMT

Back in the UK, Aston Martin Lagonda plans to stop production at its two factories on Wednesday because of the coronavirus lockdown.

1.51pm GMT

Stocks have jumped in New York at the start of trading, on hopes that US politicians could finally agree a stimulus package to combat the economic cost of Covid-19.

The Dow Jones surged by over 1,100 points, bouncing back from its lowest levels since January 2017. The other indices are also up over 5% too.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared on Tuesday morning to be close to a deal over a coronavirus stimulus bill, even as Donald Trump signaled his wish to reopen the economy and continued to attack House speaker Nancy Pelosi over her own stimulus proposal.

"I think we've made a lot of progress," Mnuchin told reporters on Capitol Hill, just before midnight on Monday. "There's still a couple of open issues, but I think we're very hopeful that this can be closed out [on Tuesday]."

1.43pm GMT

NEWSFLASH: We're moving towards the 'whatever it takes moment' in the Covid-19 crisis.
The world's most powerful finance ministers and central bankers have just issued a joint statement, pledging to take the necessary steps to address the coronavirus crisis.

They say:

We will do whatever is necessary to restore confidence and econonomic growth, and to protect jobs, businesses and the resilience of the financial system.

We are cooperating closely to share experiences and strategies so that we may effectively target our efforts to support our citizens and businesses. We are instituting new policies such as providing assistance for employment, telework, and vulnerable populations, and expanding access to childcare and unemployment benefits.

We are also providing liquidity enhancements, guarantees, subsidized loans, tax deferrals, and loan repayment deferrals and, where appropriate, grants for affected companies, especially small and medium-sized businesses.

New: Joint statement from G7 finance ministers and central bankers pledging cooperation in economic efforts. Reminiscent of an important joint communiqui(C) in October 2008. pic.twitter.com/EATe5Pg8jT

Statement of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. https://t.co/vKdaVhhOFK

1.10pm GMT

Pub chain Wetherspoons is facing heavy criticism today after telling its staff to get a job in Tesco instead.

The row began after 'Spoons boss Tim Martin told employees they wouldn't be paid until the company had reached a deal with the government to cover 80% of their wages.

As we understand it, tens of thousands of hospitality workers and others have already lost their jobs, but Wetherspoon is retaining all its employees, using the government scheme for the purpose for which it is intended,"

"Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said to employees in a video that supermarkets were urgently looking for staff, since all trade from pubs, restaurants and cafes had transferred to supermarkets in the last few days.

12.43pm GMT

Amid all the gloom, here's a heartening tale from my colleague Jasper Jolly:

Ineos, the chemicals company controlled by the billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is planning to build two hand sanitiser factories in just 10 days as part of the effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

12.40pm GMT

The global airlines body, Iata, has now said that the industry will lose $252bn in revenues this year - more than double its forecast "worst case scenario" from earlier this month as the coronavirus crisis has grown.

Iata said European airlines were the most likely to collapse, following earlier warnings that most carriers worldwide would be bankrupt by May. Countries that cover 98% of commercial air passenger revenues now have restricted travel. Director general Alexandre de Juniac called for government aid to airlines "with maximum speed".

We are in an emergency situation - we need a full-speed, massive rescue package now."

12.24pm GMT

Right, time for a quick summary after another busy morning

Britain's economy is heading into a deep recession, according to the latest survey of UK purchasing managers. Service sector activity is slumping at a record rate as customer-facing firms shut down, while manufacturers are also suffering from weak demand.

12.23pm GMT

Coronavirus will likely also spell a further delay to the opening of Crossrail, my colleague Gwyn Topham explains:

Transport for London said that all construction sites would be shut temporarily to limit the spread of the virus.
The opening of the London high-capacity rail line has already been delayed by more than two years, with its expected cost now around 18bn rather than 14.8bn. Mike Brown, London's Transport Commissioner, said:

"The Government and the Mayor have given clear instructions to stay safe and to stop travelling in all cases other than critical workers making absolutely essential journeys.

"In line with this, TfL and Crossrail will be bringing all project sites to a temporary Safe Stop unless they need to continue for operational safety reasons. This means that work on all such projects will be temporarily suspended as soon as it is safe to do so. Essential maintenance of the transport network will of course continue."

12.19pm GMT

Just in: Work on London's massive Crossrail scheme has been suspended.

Work suspended on all Tfl project sites including Crossrail pic.twitter.com/UPl6i4sFeu

11.59am GMT

Despite the government's tough new lockdown, some staff at the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (the City watchdog) are at their desks today.

"The Bank of England has instigated a number of operational measures to protect the welfare of its staff and ensure that its critical functions will continue to be delivered unhampered.

"In line with latest government guidelines, the bank is asking the maximum number of staff to work at home, consistent with being able to continue delivering its core functions seamlessly."

Remember that HSBC analyst who got coronavirus? He's back to work. Encouraging that it does get better if you strictly follow advice et al https://t.co/rGU9wHcMGs

11.53am GMT

Back in the markets, Wall Street is expected to rally sharply when trading begins in just over 90 minutes.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 are both up over 4% in pre-market trading (a strong recovery from yesterday's 3% slump).

US future off their up limits:#DOW 19428 +4.50%#SPX 2336 +4.83%#NASDAQ 7292 +4.09%#RUSSELL 1046 +4.66%#FANG 2797 +3.71%

How much damage can be inflicted on the U.S. economy to try to mitigate the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic before it kills the economy? The Trump White House is increasingly raising that question.

The answer could have grave implications for the health and livelihood of all Americans, amid the outbreak of COVID-19, the infectious disease that has been contracted by more than 300,000 people and claimed nearly 16,000 lives so far since it was first identified in December.

11.27am GMT

Here's my colleague Richard Partington on today's dire PMI reports:

The scale of the global economic damage amid the coronavirus outbreak is becoming clearer after early warning signs showed the steepest plunge in business activity ever recorded in Britain, Japan and the eurozone.

As the pandemic intensifies and more countries shut down large parts of their economies to contain the spread of the virus, the closely-watched purchasing managers indices (PMI) for several of the world's biggest economies fell to the lowest levels since records began more than two decades ago.

11.13am GMT

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has asked customers for patience with the processing of refunds or rebooking, in the midst of some passenger disgruntlement with the carrier's response to the coronavirus.

11.09am GMT

Back in UK retail.... Sainsbury's is to keep Argos concessions within its supermarkets open despite the chain falling outside the "essential retail" category of stores ordered to close by the government on Monday night.

The retail group's standalone Argos stores and Habitat outlets have shut.

"With the overwhelming pressure on all food retailers it is inevitable that companies are going to look at redeploying staff within the business. However, this is extremely unsettling for staff in what are already difficult and testing times for everyone.

10.52am GMT

The Bank of England believes UK banks are strong enough to survive the coronavirus outbreak, despite forecasting a "more severe" short-term impact than its annual stress tests have been able to simulate.

In the minutes of its latest meeting, released this morning, the Financial Policy Committee said:

The FPC considered that the economic disruption associated with Covid-19 should have less impact on the core banking system than recent stress tests run by the Bank have shown the system can withstand.

The disruption from Covid-19 would likely be more severe than the stress test in the first phase but the FPC expected that it would ultimately be less protracted and lead to less output loss overall over the course of two years than the ACS [or annual cyclical scenario] which contained a very prolonged fall in output.

10.45am GMT

The coronavirus outbreak is forcing Nationwide to cut its opening hours.

The building society says most of its 650 branches will now open 10am-2pm Monday to Friday and 9am-12pm on Saturdays. It says 50 have closed.

10.34am GMT

Despite today's stormy economic data, the pound is rallying this morning.

Sterling has jumped by almost two cents against the US dollar -- lifting it back to $1.1737.

Potential double bottom on cable, looking to break through 1.19 and the it's game time??? pic.twitter.com/Ue9hoVdG77

10.31am GMT

UK housebuilders are also reeling from the crisis.

"As the government's escalating measures to contain the spread of the virus take effect, it is inevitable our sales rate will be seriously impaired over the coming weeks and build output will be significantly affected by labour and material shortages.

We also expect outlet openings to slip as local authorities delay planning committee meetings."

10.19am GMT

Confirmation that UK firms are slammed on the brakes:

Job postings on @IndeedUK are now 15% below last year's trend.

They're almost down the 1st Jan level (usually the annual low point).

This shows how much hiring slows down when the economic outlook worsens. https://t.co/4d3qVrw3AX pic.twitter.com/rYiM4jZMVT

10.09am GMT

The slump in activity across the UK this month is just a taste of the economic downturn ahead.

With more firms shutting their doors and cancelling orders, output will keep slumping and unemployment will keep rising.

"Just as the economy began to strengthen at the beginning of the year, the shock of this deepening global health crisis has flung businesses into the abyss, with the worst overall downturn in manufacturing and services for more than two decades.

"The services sector received the largest blow as citizens reduced their social activity and leisure activities were abandoned. The sector recorded its worst drop in activity since 1996 when the survey began. New orders also took a significant hit as the rapid realisation of the significance of COVID-19 applied an abrupt brake on consumer-facing businesses.

9.56am GMT

Customer-facing UK companies such as hotels & restaurants, sports centres, gyms and hair salons have suffered the steepest fall in activity seen since Markit's PMI survey began in 1996.

And with many now forced to close, the economy will clearly keep shrinking in the months ahead.

The initial impact of emergency public health measures was also reflected in record downturns in activity across transport & travel and the vast business-to-business services category

9.52am GMT

Overall, UK manufacturing output is shrinking at the sharpest pace since July 2012 - with transport companies (understandably) having a brutal month as Britain self-isolates:

But food and drink firms have been busy, as families prepare for the lockdown.

Only producers in the food & drink and chemicals & plastics sectors reported growth of output in March. The former reflected higher demand due to stockpiling by households, while the latter was driven by a surge in production within the pharmaceuticals sector.

At the other end of the scale, the transport goods sector registered the largest slump in output during March.

9.50am GMT

There's broad agreement that today's UK PMI report is really, really bad.... (although we already know the causes, of course!)

Blimey. Britain's services sector, the engine of the UK economy, contracted more than ever in March.
Purchasing Manager's Index down from 53.2 points to 35.7. Anything below 50 points is a contraction.
Worst since the data series began in 1998 pic.twitter.com/tRcuTcOALm

Unsurprisingly terrible plunge in surveyed economic activity - record UK PMI low not even required in current circumstances to tell us, like rest of Europe, US etc, economy undergoing sharp contraction pic.twitter.com/UzTLuvzD6Y

Flash #PMI shows major hit to #UK economy in March from #coronavirus as #services & #manufacturing output contracted most in series history; composite index down to 37.1 (53.0 in Feb). Services took biggest hit as PMI at record low of 35.7 (53.2); manufacturing PMI at 48.0 (51.7)

9.42am GMT

NEWSFLASH: The UK economy is contracting at its fastest rate in at least two decades, as the service sector is hit extremely hard by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Data firm Markit reports that business activity across services and manufacturing has slumped this month, as the coronavirus deals the UK economy "a more severe blow than at any time since comparable figures were first available over 20 years ago".

Flash UK PMI drops to record low of 37.1 in March, as the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a more severe blow to the UK economy than during the financial crisis, even before more stringent measures for shops, pubs and restaurants announced last Friday. More here: https://t.co/l6mZjC7JDw pic.twitter.com/F4nMuCgYtV

"The surveys highlight how the COVID-19 outbreak has already dealt the UK economy an initial blow even greater than that seen at the height of the global financial crisis.

With additional measures to contain the spread of the virus set to further paralyse large parts of the economy in coming months, such as business closures and potential lockdowns, a recession of a scale we have not seen in modern history is looking increasingly likely.

9.16am GMT

Economists agree that the eurozone is plunging into a deep downturn, although it's hard to say quite how bad it will be....

Eurozone preliminary PMI estimate plunges to a record low 31.4 in March from 51.5 in Feb. Services 28.4, manufacturing 39.5. Data was collected between 12-23 March, so I suspect final PMI will be even lower. Equates to big GDP fall, but can't put a real fig on it (see 08 crisis). pic.twitter.com/SsXayqT72a

Italian and Spanish PMIs will be published on 1-3 April but today's flash releases already confirm that the economic slump will be worse than in core countries, and much deeper than during the Global Financial Crisis. pic.twitter.com/M3FHQepZkj

Euro area PMIs confirm that the economy suffered an unprecedented collapse in business activity in March

The unprecedented slumps in demand and business sentiment prompted the largest monthly cull in staffing levels since July 2009. pic.twitter.com/KoVarK4lwr

9.14am GMT

Today's dire PMI survey shows that the eurozone economy is shrinking fast, says Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit:

"Business activity across the eurozone collapsed in March to an extent far exceeding that seen even at the height of the global financial crisis. Steep downturns were seen in France, Germany and across the rest of the euro area as governments took increasingly tough measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

"The March PMI is indicative of GDP slumping at a quarterly rate of around 2%, and clearly there's scope for the downturn to intensify further as even more draconian policies to deal with the virus are potentially implemented in coming months.

9.09am GMT

NEWSFLASH: Eurozone economic output is slumping this month, at a rate that far exceeds the worst moments of the financial crisis or the euro debt crisis.

Data firm Markit's monthly survey of purchasing managers, just released, has crashed to its lowest level since it was created in 1998 -- at just 31.4.

COVID-19 caused the largest collapse in business activity ever recorded in the eurozone, according to our data. The Composite Output PMI fell to 31.4, falling over 20 points and signalling a quarterly contraction of approximately -2%. More: https://t.co/hKFPEEwKhI pic.twitter.com/kT7tGWLN9p

Expectations of future output also deteriorated markedly to reach an all-time low, with record degrees of pessimism about the year ahead seen in both manufacturing and services.

The unprecedented slumps in demand and business sentiment prompted the largest monthly cull in staffing levels since July 2009.

8.44am GMT

Germany's service sector has also contracted extremely sharply this month.

Data firm Markit reports that its flash Germany Services PMI Activity Index has slumped to just 34.5, from 52.5 in February - a record low.

German PMIs consistent with GDP contraction of over 8% annualised. Manufacturing PMI comes out *6 points* above consensus, but once again due to supply-side disruptions (delivery times).
Markit: "the situation is much worse than the headline PMI suggests". pic.twitter.com/KUF3Ut2GXL

"The unprecedented collapse in the PMI underscores how Germany is headed for recession, and a steep one at that. The March data are indicative of GDP falling at a quarterly rate of around 2%, and the escalation of measures to contain the virus outbreak mean we should be braced for the downturn to further intensify in the second quarter.

The service sector has so far borne the brunt of the government's measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, with activity falling to the greatest extent in almost 23 years of data collection, and at a rate that already far surpasses anything seen even during the depths of the global financial crisis.

8.37am GMT

Good grief! France's economy is shrinking at an alarmingly fast rate, as the coronavirus outbreak hurts businesses badly.

The latest survey of French purchasing managers shows that activity shrank at a record pace in March (the survey goes back to the late 1990s).

French PMI: there's no word for that. pic.twitter.com/5x6wSFo3zG

France services sector PMI plunges below GFC levels according to @IHSMarkitPMI (preliminary data).#Covid19 #recession pic.twitter.com/iWco6LTxdn

8.28am GMT

It appears that Sports Direct has been forced to abandon its attempt to defy the government's lockdown, and keep its stores open.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove just told the BBC Today Programme that the government has made it clear that this decision was wrong.

Michael Gove says on Radio 4's Today: "the management of that store have got the message and Sports Direct will now not be open."

The message should not have been necessary. Mike Ashley was prepared to put lives at risk - workers and customers - for money. Disgusting.

Michael Gove says the government told Sports Direct not to open stores and Mike Ashley has now agreed.

8.24am GMT

European stock markets are also bouncing, despite the prospect of a dire recession this year:

8.12am GMT

In a welcome relief to investors, Britain's stock market is rebounding from Monday's rout.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 has jumped by almost 4% in early trading, up 199 points at 5190 (last night it closed at its lowest point since 2011).

Investors have their hopes tied to the $2-trillion rescue package that needs to get signed by the Congress, yet apparently there are controversies among policymakers on how to spend this money.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the help is destined to corporations first, not workers and their families. While spending on climate change related issues are said to pull politicians apart and prevent the deal from getting signed. Yet a delayed deal is damaging for both parties, especially now that the coronavirus-induced lockdowns accelerate across the United States as well.

8.01am GMT

Asia-Pacific stock markets have rallied overnight, despite the dire PMI reports from Japan and Australia.

Asian stocks bask in their best day in four years buoyed by the Fed's unprecedented bond buying program https://t.co/xnXflim7oJ pic.twitter.com/oKuITwtqsL

7.56am GMT

Australia's economy is also having a torrid month.

The Australian Services PMI, released today, has slumped to a record low of 39.8 as restaurants, cafes and tourism were hit hard by travel bans and cancellations of events and concerts.

Flash #PMI data indicated business activity across #Australia private sector fell at a steeper rate in March, led by a sharp fall in services activity as COVID-19 hits demand. Read more: https://t.co/sTGq4z87dX pic.twitter.com/Tciyp8Xy1S

7.43am GMT

Japan's economy has suffered a slump in activity this month, according to the latest purchasing managers survey.

The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 44.8 from a final 47.8 in February, its lowest since April 2009.

The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Services PMI index slumped to a seasonally adjusted 32.7 from the previous month's 46.8, its lowest since the start of the services sector survey in September 2007.

#Japan's economic downturn deepens drastically in March, dragged down by a sharp contraction in the service sector, according to #PMI data as #coronavirus outbreak led to plummeting tourism, event cancellations and supply chain disruptions. Read more: https://t.co/t8fIv8YsoD pic.twitter.com/2UUJKAN9i7

Japan services PMI is in full financial crisis territory, worse than during the 2011 earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster, and this is a country that's less visibly impacted by coronavirus now than any other large advanced economy in the world. pic.twitter.com/THy3OYoUsK

7.20am GMT

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

With Britain now in lockdown, we're about to learn how badly the coronavirus has hurt the UK economy. And it's going to be grim.

First, the global economic outlook for 2020 is expected to be negative. We will face recession at least as bad as during the global financial crisis or worse, but we expect recovery in 2021.

First, the global economic outlook for 2020 is expected to be negative. We will face recession at least as bad as during the global financial crisis or worse, but we expect recovery in 2021. Countries should undertake more bold fiscal actions. (2/4) https://t.co/Ek1DT1ZpSQ

Third, many countries are turning to the IMF for financial assistance. To date, we have received close to 80 requests and we stand ready to deploy all our US$1 trillion lending capacity. (4/4) https://t.co/Ek1DT1ZpSQ #COVID19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/0bPD9V7iyC

European Opening Calls:#FTSE 5166 +3.45%#DAX 9101 +4.12%#CAC 4056 +3.61%#AEX 441 +4.16%#MIB 16315 +4.85%#IBEX 6499 +4.32%#OMX 1340 +3.72%#STOXX 2575 +3.59%#IGOpeningCall

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