Traders take fright over coronavirus

The London market tumbled into the red on renewed coronavirus fears and after the shock resignation of Sajid Javid as chancellor sent the pound higher.

The pound jumped as investors bet the promotion of Rishi Sunak to replace Mr Javid in the second most important job in government would herald the start of increased spending.

As sterling rose, it compounded hefty share losses on the already under-pressure FTSE 100 Index, which joined global markets in the red after news of a sharp increase in cases of coronavirus and deaths in China.

The FTSE 100 closed down 1.1% or 82.34 points at 7,452.03, having at one stage plummeted 127 points, with heavy falls from the likes of British Gas owner Centrica and Barclays compounding the declines.

With many blue-chip stocks generating their revenues outside Britain, sterling’s gains put their shares further under pressure, with the pound up 0.7% to 1.30 US dollars and 0.9% higher at 1.20 euros.

There were also falls across Europe and on Wall Street amid worries over the spread of coronavirus.

The Cac 40 in France ended the session down 0.4%, while Germany’s Dax closed off 0.2%.

In the US, the Dow was nearly 80 points lower at the time of close in London.

Banking giant Barclays shed 2% or 3.02p to 176.32p, after revealing a probe into chief executive Jes Staley’s link with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It overshadowed a 25% hike in 2019 profits, though the bank cautioned 2020 targets would be “challenging”.