Gloomy data and oil see FTSE retreat

Traders took fright yesterday as a slew of poor data and results from across the globe dampened any attempts at optimism.

Oil price falls hit several big names in the sector on the leading FTSE 100 index and warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the world could experience a depression not seen since the 1930s.

As a result, the leading index closed the day down 193.66 points, or 3.3 per cent, at 5,597.65. In Europe, the Paris Cac 40 ended down 3.7 per cent, while the Dax 30 in Frankfurt was in the red by 4.2 per cent.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “Equity markets in Europe are firmly in the red as the warning from the IMF has finally sunk in.

“The group anticipates the world economy could contract by 3 per cent this year. The update was in stark contrast to the forecast it issued three months ago, when it projected worldwide growth of 3.3 per cent.”

The markets also took a hit as the US indices were dragged down, following poor data Stateside showing a 5.4 per cent slump in industrial production in March, the worst contraction since 1946.

The drag from plunging oil prices also took its toll, with the price of a barrel down as demand slumped to levels not seen for 25 years. A barrel of Brent crude dropped 7 per cent to $27.54 a barrel. In company news, the oil price falls hit Royal Dutch Shell’s “A” shares, which closed down 99p to 1,346p and BP shares fell 21.4p to 299.7p.

Car insurer Hastings said it would be ignoring the warnings from the Bank of England to hold back dividend payments during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Shareholders appeared pleased with the payout, closing up 7.8p at 190.3p.

But heating and plumbing products giant Ferguson warned its shareholders that the impact of Covid-19 has “significantly increased” in the last ten days.

However, the pain was tempered by bosses saying demerger plans for its UK Wolseley business remain set to complete later this year. Shares closed down 2.27 per cent at 5,070p.

And online casino and bingo operator 888 warned that profits halved last year over higher gaming duties. Shares closed down 12.8p at 129.2p.