Markets on the mend after coronavirus hit

Global markets have rebounded from Monday’s coronavirus scare, which saw the FTSE 100 drop at its fastest rate in months.

London’s top index closed the day up 68.64 points, or 0.93% at 7480.69.

It allowed the blue chip companies to claw back some of the 193.15 points they had lost on Monday.

“The positive move in equities is probably down to short covering plus bargain hunting as the health crisis has deepened. The longer the news story hangs around, traders might build up a tolerance to it,” said David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets.

Traders will also be more optimistic after the Chinese central bank signalled it would, if needed, use its tools to boost economic sentiment.

The Cac index in Paris rose around 1.1% on the day, while Germany’s Dax was up 0.9%.

The price of Brent crude oil rose 1.7% to 59.92 dollars, after a major fall on Monday.

Sterling fell by 0.47% against the US currency, to 1.2995. Compared to the euro, it lost 0.35% of its value to 1.1806.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Intercontinental Hotels, up 139.5p to 4,709.50p, St James Place, up 32.5p to 1,130.50p, Hargreaves Lansdown, up 52.5p to 1,851.50p, Glencore, up 6.2p to 227.60p, and Whitbread, up 111p to 4,350.00p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Diageo, down 46p to 3,146.50p, Centrica, down 0.7p to 88.34p, Polymetal International, down 8p to 1,261.00p, Halma, down 13p to 2,132.00p, and TUI AG, down 4.8p to 815.80p.