Footsie stays positive after turbulent day

A late rally saw the Footsie end a tough week in the black despite giving up much of the gains it had been showing earlier in the day.

The FTSE-100 index at the close was up 128.63 points at 5,366.11, although it had been up by more than 400 points earlier in the afternoon.

A raft of companies updated on the impact of coronavirus including games developer Codemaster which said the delay of the new Fast & Furious movie has made the release of its new game based on the franchise “uncertain”.

Although not directly based on the film, the game was meant to be released alongside the global release. Shares closed down 9.5p at 227.5p

Shares in over-50s group Saga edged up 1 per cent to 15.16p despite news that it was suspending its cruise operations until 1 May following the spread of coronavirus. The travel and insurance specialist said the decision followed updated advice from the UK government advising people aged 70 and over against going on cruises.

In an update after the market closed, Aston Martin said it was increasing a £500m capitalraising plan by £36m due to the outbreak which will now see a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll take a stake of around 25 per cent stake in the firm.

Shares in Premier Oil rose strongly as the North Sea operator said that it had hedged around 30 per cent of its 2020 oil production at an average price of around $60 a barrel. Analysts at SP Angel said Premier is well capitalised to weather the current lower oil price environment. Shares rose 3.38p to 16p.