Last checked at 
(Alliance News) -Â London stock prices remained in the red at midday on Wednesday, weighed down by travel stocks with sentiment damped by worries over a second wave of infections as countries ease their Covid-19 lockdowns.
The FTSE 100 index was down 53.04 points, or 0.9%, at 5,941.73 Wednesday midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 193.16 points, or 1.2%, at 15,979.88 and the AIM All-Share index was down 0.4% at 821.15.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 1.0% at 10,048.460. The Cboe 250 was down 1.3% at 13,570.370, and the Cboe UK Small Companies down 1.2% at 8,852.730.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 1.4%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was down 1.2% on Wednesday.
"The impending easing of lockdown restrictions is starting to raise fear for markets despite previous hope that this would herald a new, more bullish phase for economic activity. Comments from Dr Fauci yesterday highlighted the fear for scientists that the US may be seeking to reopen too early," said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG.
Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the US, warned bluntly of "really serious" consequences of suffering, death and deeper economic damage if state and local officials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly, even as President Donald Trump pushes them to act to right a free-falling economy.
The US recorded 1,894 more coronavirus deaths, bringing the total to 82,246, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally on Tuesday.
Fauci's evidence before a Senate committee on Tuesday came as more than two dozen states have begun to lift their lockdowns as a first step toward economic recovery.
Despite the downbeat trading in Europe, stocks in the US are poised for a stronger start to Wednesday's session. The Dow Jones is seen up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq 0.5% higher.
In the UK, first quarter gross domestic product data laid bare the extent to which the Covid-19 lockdown has hobbled the economy.
UK gross domestic product fell 2.0% sequentially in the first quarter after a flat reading for the fourth quarter of 2019. Annually, first quarter GDP fell by 1.6%.
Though dire, the latest figures were better than expected by the market. Consensus, according to FXStreet, had seen a quarter-on-quarter decline of 2.5% and an annual fall of 2.1%.
In the month of March alone, the economy contracted 5.8% month-on-month, having fallen 0.2% in February and advanced 0.1% in January.
Wednesday's release captures the first direct effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and government measures taken to reduce stem the spread of the virus, the ONS said. The "most significant" was the introduction of restrictions in movement across the UK, which began on March 23.
Commerzbank thinks the worse is yet to come for the UK economy.
"Since the lockdown was introduced in late-March the full economic impacts will take full effect only in April. Accordingly, if we assume the bulk of the decline fell in the last week of March, today's figures are consistent with a 25% contraction in that period. Carrying this over into Q2 implies a 23% quarterly decline," said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank.
Some easing of the lockdown will allow a slight recovery in the second half of May and into June, meaning the second quarter contraction could be limited to "slightly below" 20%.
Sterling edged up to USD1.2303 after the data, but remained lower than USD1.2310 at the London equities close on Tuesday.
The euro traded at USD1.0853 midday Wednesday, lower than USD1.0870 late Tuesday.
In the eurozone, data showed industrial production slumped in March, succumbing to lockdown measures put in place to contain Covid-19.
In the euro area - 19 of 27 members states of the trading bloc - there was an 11% monthly output fall in March, Eurostat said. While on annual basis, the figure stretches to 13%. The monthly fall in March stacks up poorly when compared to the more modest 0.1% month-on-month decline recorded in February.
Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY107.06, down from JPY107.28 on Tuesday afternoon in London.
To come in the economic calendar on Wednesday, US producer prices are at 1330 BST.
Gold was quoted at USD1,704.37 an ounce early Wednesday, soft on USD1,707.15 on late Tuesday in London. Brent oil was trading at USD29.66 a barrel, down from USD29.80.
In London, travel stocks were among the worst blue-chip performers.
"Cruise operator Carnival is amongst the largest fallers today in the wake of yesterday's announcement that it would be cutting thousands of jobs at its UK operation. The reports of quarantines being put in place for international travel has seen the wider travel sector post losses in the past couple of days with easyJet and International Consolidated Airlines trading sharply lower, after last night's admission from Health Secretary Matt Hancock that international holidays were unlikely to be an option for most people this year," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
Carnival shares were down 7.4% at midday while InterContinental Hotels Group was down 6.8%, with easyJet down 4.5% and International Consolidated Airlines down 3.1%.
Sat at the top of the FTSE 100 was Sage Group, up 3.6% as the accounting software firm reported a higher interim profit as software subscription revenue grew and expenses fell, offsetting a drop in other revenue.
Sage reported a GBP275 million pretax profit for the six months ended March 31, up 39% from GBP198 million the year before.
One factor in this was a 1.9% increase in revenue to GBP975 million from GBP957 million, with organic total revenue up 5.7% at GBP935 million including 10% recurring revenue growth. An 8.1% drop in selling and administrative expenses to GBP622 million from GBP677 million further boosted profit.
Ferguson shares rose 2.7%. The plumbing and heating products supplier said the "strong" momentum seen in the first half of its financial year has been restrained since by the Covid-19 outbreak.
In the three months to April 30 - Ferguson's third-quarter - revenue was up 0.9% year on year to USD4.75 billion from USD4.71 billion, but a 7.7% rise in February and March was offset by an 11% decline in April.
In the US, Ferguson recorded 1.9% revenue growth in the third quarter but Canada suffered a 16% fall.
Mid-cap Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings slumped 9.7% as Covid-19 dealt its first-quarter performance a blow.
For the period ended March 31, wholesale volumes were down 45% year-on-year to GBP578 with revenue down 60% to GBP78.6 million.
Revenue plunged as the Covid-19 pandemic dragged down dealer demand. Aston Martin said this amplified "the impact of strategic decision to lower wholesales to reduce dealer inventory towards a luxury norm".
The firm's pretax loss widened to GBP118.9 million from GBP17.3 million.
The uncertainty surrounding the duration and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic makes it "not possible to provide a clear view on the full-year outlook", the company said, and as a result, Aston Martin has withdrawn its guidance for the year.
By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
