MARKET REPORT
GLOBAL markets opened the week in positive territory yesterday as investors cheered signs that the number of coronavirus cases may be stabilising. The FTSE 100 closed the day up 166.89 points, or 3.1%, to 5582.39.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil dropped 3.5% to $32.95 yesterday, as a meeting of Opec was delayed.
Prices have plummeted in recent weeks amid a battle between Saudi Arabia and Russia over production cuts.
However a potential thaw in relations last week had put a bounce back in Brent, which was trading at around $25 at one point.
As the price of oil fell again yesterday, it had a knock-on effect on the companies that produce the black gold.
BP, which dropped by 1.45p, and Shell, which rose slightly, by 7.8p, were both among the bottom 20 performers on the FTSE 100.
In company news, enginemaker Rolls-Royce ended the day the FTSE 100’s best performer, up by 46.1p to 297.7p after it withdrew financial guidance and scrapped its final dividend.
Rolls-Royce said it had faced a £300m headwind from the outbreak of coronavirus, which has grounded airlines’ fleets around the world. It is still around 50% down in the last month.
WHSmith closed the day up 94p to 1,094p after securing a new £120 million loan and will raise more cash to help it get through the coronavirus crisis.
The high street retailer said it has seen a “substantial downturn in economic activity” as a result of the virus.
EasyJet rose 77.4p to 552.4p even after founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou warned the airline will “run out of money by around August”.
Sir Stelios renewed calls to cancel a £4.5bn order with Airbus and called on finance chief Andrew Findlay to be removed.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Rolls-Royce Holdings, up 46.1p to 297.7p, Melrose Industries, up 13.46p to 88.72p, Legal & General, up 26.6p to 186.3p, Carnival, up 101.2p to 716p, and Barratt Development, up 63.1p to 447.4p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Sainsbury, down 7.3p to 206.1p, United Utilities, down 23.6p to 826.2p, Halma, down 41p to 1,848.5p, and Spirax-Sarco, down 150p to 7,710p and London Stock Exchange Group down 136p at 7,064p