Oil and commodity stocks plunge on covid-19 sell-off 6,462

OIL and commodity stocks bore the brunt as the FTSE 100 plunged again as the global markets resumed their Covid-19-driven frenzy.

The FTSE 100 closed 242.88 points lower at 6,462.55 at the end of trading on Friday.

London’s top flight plummeted back to its lowest level since July 2016 with only four risers – IAG up 8.5p at 431.6p; Rolls-Royce up 1p at 588.2p; Polymetal up 2p at 1,298p and Morrison’s up 0.1p at 185.3p.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “As yields plunge across the world the coronavirus has effected a stampede for the exits in the fashion of someone shouting fire in a crowded theatre. In a month where airline, travel and banking stocks had already had a bad start, we’ve seen these declines accelerate this week.

“There seems to be an increasingly inverse relationship between the rise in new cases of coronavirus being reported, to the speed of the falls in the share prices of stocks in these sectors, as fears about further sharp increases in cases weigh on investor sentiment.”

The European markets all slid heavily into the red, with the German Dax decreased by 3.37% while the French Cac moved 4.14% lower. Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones opened lower as it handed back some of the major gains it racked up on Thursday.

Sterling made gains against the sliding dollar after the Fed’s rate cut earlier this week projected weakness in the country’s economy. The value of the pound rose 0.29% versus the US dollar at 1.299 and was down 0.28% against the euro at 1.149.

The price of oil plummeted despite Opec’s plan to cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day. The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 7.9% to 46.06 US dollars.

In company news, shares in Cineworld dived after investors were unconvinced by the firm’s assurance that it has not seen any significant impact on bookings. Cineworld closed 10.4p lower at 111.1p.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread slipped lower on concerns over a drop off in business bookings. Shares fell 128p to 3,501p.

.There were only four risers in the FTSE 100. They were IAG up 8.5p at 431.6p; RollsRoyce up 1p at 588.2p; Polymetal up 2p at 1,298p and Morrison’s up 0.1p at 185.3p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Anglo American down 160.2p at 1,681.2p; Smiths Group down 120p at 1,410p; Centrica down 5.74p at 69.76p; Carnival down 151.5p at 1,981.5p and Evraz down 20.2p at 269.1p.