Seven days in the Square Mile

The FTSE 100 fell back into the red midweek on news that the UK economy shrank by a record 5.8% in March. Economists said April’s reading was likely to be worse, since the March figure only captured the first week of lockdown. Earlier, the Bank of England forecast that coronavirus would push the economy into its deepest recession since 1706, with output plunging almost 30% in the first half of the year. The scale of the slowdown in UK consumer spending was evident in new car registrations, which dropped 97% last month, compared with April 2019. US markets continued to grind higher, despite a succession of cataclysmic data indicators. The S&P 500 put on 1.7% on the day it was reported that 20.5 million US jobs were lost in April. Following its precipitous 34% drop, the index has now trimmed its losses since the start of year to just 9%. The Indian government announced plans for a $266bn stimulus package to help the country’s stalled economy.

The Government set out plans to restart the housing market, in deep freeze since the lockdown. Estate agents, removal firms and conveyancers can now restart operations. Travel firm Tui pledged to “reinvent the holiday in 2020”, but warned that up to 8,000 jobs would go. Disneyland reopened in Shanghai, at a third of its former capacity. Recipe box companies, including Mindful Chef, Gousto and Hello Fresh, reported record sales growth, after a surge of orders.