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* BP, Shell plunge over 19%; worst day ever
* FTSE 100 drops 7.7%, FTSE 250 down 6.4%
* Autos, miners, oil & gas stocks lead declines
(Adds stock close, news items)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Noor Zainab Hussain
March 9 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 plunged to an almost
four-year low on Monday as a crash in oil prices driven by a
price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia stoked global
recession fears, with investors alarmed about the economic
fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.
Oil majors BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc
recorded their worst day ever, as Saudi Arabia slashed its
official crude selling price following Russia's refusal to cut
output to match lower demand on the back of the health crisis.
The wider oil and gas sector plunged more than
18% and led the bluechip decline.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slumped 7.7%, its worst
day since the global financial crisis in 2008, while the
domestically focussed mid-cap index shed 6.4%.
All but one stock listed on the FTSE 100 fell, with auto
parts, banks and mining
stocks among the biggest decliners.
"Stock markets have plummeted today as continued fears about
the coronavirus combined with the fresh worries of a price war
in the oil market has battered sentiment," CMC Markets analyst
David Madden said.
"Dealers are terrified that more swathes of Europe will go
into quarantine, and that has been a factor in the brutal
sell-off in stocks ... there are serious concerns that some
economies could slow down or even get pushed into a recession,"
he added.
European firms have lost $3 trillion in value since fears of
the economic damage from the epidemic sparked a worldwide
sell-off last month, with the equity market now firmly in bear
market territory.
"It has been quite an extraordinary day overall in the
markets," OANDA analyst Craig Erlam, said.
Fears of a global recession have also been amplified by a
reduction in global growth forecasts as the unchecked spread of
the virus prompted harsher containment measures and crippled
supply chains.
Britain is making extensive preparations for additional
measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister
Boris Johnson said on Monday.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United
Kingdom rose by 30% to 273, the government said on Sunday, and a
third person who tested positive for the virus has died.
Central banks around the world have taken measures to inject
more cash into financial markets, with traders now expecting the
U.S. Federal Reserve to cut rates again on March 18 after an
emergency reduction last week.
All eyes are now on the European Central Bank meeting on
Thursday, but analysts have questioned the efficacy of monetary
policy easing to revive supply chains.
"Monetary and fiscal policy will be of limited effect until
prices more broadly reflect a very high probability of
recession," said Bill Zox, chief investment officer for fixed
income at Diamond Hill Capital Management.
(Additional reporting by Devik Jain, Kate Duguid and C
Nivedita; Editing by Sagarika Jaisinghani and Keith Weir)
