Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Stocks in Europe plunged across the board on Monday with travel stocks in London hammered as fears over the spread of coronavirus ratcheted following a surge in cases in South Korea and Italy.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 247.09 points, or 3.3%, at 7,156.83.
The FTSE 250 ended down 662.33 points, or 3.0%, at 21,117.87, and the AIM All-Share closed down 29.68 points, or 3.1%, at 942.94.
The Cboe UK 100 ended down 3.4% at 12,107.10, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 3.2% at 19,047.35, and the Cboe Small Companies ended 1.5% lower at 12,380.39.
In Europe the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 3.9% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt slumped 4.0%. In Milan, the FTSE MIB plummeted 5.4%.
"Coronavirus concerns have hit markets hard today, with a more global reach raising fears that the virus cannot be contained as easily as many had presumed," said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG.
"A rising number of cases in Italy, Iran, and South Korea highlight the international nature of this virus, with many fearing that we are passing the point at which it can be contained. Most worryingly, the ongoing search for the 'patient zero' that brought the virus to [Italy] means we could see cases ramp up and spread rapidly," said Mahony.
The World Health Organization warned countries on Monday to be ready for a "potential pandemic" as new deaths and infections in Europe, the Middle East and Asia triggered more drastic efforts to contain the new coronavirus.
The number of fatalities in China – where the virus emerged late last year – also continued to soar, with 150 more deaths taking the official toll to nearly 2,600.
And more worryingly, the spread of the virus in other parts of the world has accelerated over the past week, with Iran, South Korea and Italy emerging as new hotspots. Deaths were reported in each of those countries on Monday, while Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman also announced their first cases of the virus.
Stocks in New York were deep in the red at the London equities close, with the DJIA down 2.8%, the S&P 500 index also down 2.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 3.4%.
Travel stocks were the worst performers in London as investors fear the spread of the virus will knock travel demand.
easyJet shares closed down 16%, Ryanair down 13%, TUI down 10%, and International Consolidated Airlines, which operates British Airways, sank 9.0%.
The only two stocks in the FTSE 100 to gain on Monday were Pearson, up 2.6%, and Bunzl, up 2.4%.
Bunzl said revenue for 2019 rose 2.7% yearly to GBP9.33 billion, helping pretax profit increase by 6.7% to GBP453.3 million. By segment, only a 1.7% revenue decline to GBP1.24 billion in the UK & Ireland prevented growth across the board.
In North America, revenue climbed 3.7% to GBP5.47 billion and in Continental Europe by 1.8% to GBP1.83 billion. In the Rest of the World, revenue rose by 5.6% to GBP781.6 million.
Associated British Foods posted modest losses, closing down 1.9%. The ingredients and clothing retailer expects progress in half-year results, helped by a sales rise at its Primark retail arm, which is yet to experience any short-term pain from the coronavirus outbreak.
AB Foods said it built inventories before the Chinese new year, when the virus initially spread through Wuhan. The risk of supply shortages could be prevalent towards the end of the financial year however, AB Foods cautioned, if delays to factory production continue.
The company, which ends its first half on February 29, expects growth in sales and adjusted operating profit to rise from GBP639 million in the year prior. However, on a reported basis, the dilutive effect of the adoption of accounting standard IFRS 16 on earnings will result in a "small reduction in adjusted earnings per share in the first half".
At Primark, first half sales are tipped to come in 2.5% higher year-on-year, and up 4.2% at constant currency. Like-for-like sales are flat, the company said.
In the FTSE 250, which was also painted red, marketing and media firm Ascential was one of the few winners, up 3.8%.
For 2019, Ascential recorded pretax profit of GBP10.2 million, a 65% drop year-on-year. Revenue rose 19% to GBP416.2 million.
Sales revenue jumped 31% to GBP158.4 million, while Marketing revenue added 17% to GBP135.9 million. Product Design revenue was 11% higher at GBP86.5 million.
Looking towards 2020, Ascential is targetting organic revenue growth, through its Money20/20 platform and billings growth in its Edge e-commerce business.
In commodities, Brent oil was quoted at USD55.65 a barrel at the London equities close Monday, down from USD57.80 late Friday.
"Of course, the spread of the virus is impacting every major market, but oil has seen one of the strongest reactions. Crude benchmarks in both the US and UK are trading down by over minus 4% so far today. Focusing on Brent crude, prices fell roughly 25% peak-to-trough in a month from early January to early February, and after staging a fierce recovery rally over the last two weeks, Brent is starting to look like its ready to begin another leg lower," said Matt Weller, head of market research at FOREX.com.
Gold, however, was quoted at USD1,671.11 an ounce at the London equities close against USD1,643.10 as investors flocked to the safe haven asset.
The safe haven yen was also higher on Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY110.56, lower compared to JPY111.72 late Friday.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2928 at the London equities close, compared to USD1.2970 at the close Friday. The euro stood at USD1.0862, against USD1.0863.
In the economic calendar for Tuesday, there is German GDP at 0700 GMT and US consumer confidence at 1500 GMT.
In Tuesday's UK corporate calendar, there are annual results from specialty chemicals firm Croda International, aerospace and defence firm Meggitt, and retail property investor Hammerson.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
