Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London started Friday firmly in the red, with housebuilders taking the brunt of the hit.
The FTSE 100 index was down 189.98 points, or 3.3%, at 5,628.13 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 479.47 points, or 3.1%, at 14,897.90. The AIM All-Share index was down 1.0% at 671.82.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 2.4% at 9.551.41. The Cboe 250 was down 2.3% at 12,978.20, and the Cboe Small Companies flat at 8,143.20.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were both down 1.8% early Friday.
"Data that showed Chinese industrial profits crashed in March and the US overtaking China in the number of coronavirus cases is causing some to second-guess recent optimism," London Capital Markets' Jasper Lawler said.
Swissquote Analyst pek Ozkardeskaya added: "The jobless claims in the US rose past the 3 million mark last week, a sign that the Covid-19 has started taking a severe toll on the US labour market, and the US now has the most coronavirus cases in the world, hinting that the situation is about to get worse in the coming weeks.
"But bad news was good news for the market. The US stocks indices rallied for a third consecutive day on hope that the tragic data would encourage the House of Representatives to approve the USD2 trillion rescue package quickly."
The lower chamber of the US Congress is scheduled to vote on the measure on Friday.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 3.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.6% in late trade.
The dollar was weaker across the board early Friday, following Thursday's disastrous jobless claim figures.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2203 early Friday, higher than USD1.2132 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at USD1.1028 early Friday, up from USD1.1004 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY108.77, down from JPY109.57.
In London, housebuilders were struggling following UK government ministers urging house buyers to put their imminent property moves on hold during the UK lockdown designed to stem the tide of the new coronavirus.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said those due to move house should rearrange to a new date and delay the process of changing property.
Barratt Developments was down 8.4%, Berkeley 8.3%, Persimmon 8.0% and Taylor Wimpey was 6.3% lower.
Cruise ship operator Carnival was down 11% after US President Donald Trump said he told cruise lines to incorporate themselves domestically if they want to access loans from a massive US stimulus package. Carnival is listed in the UK as Carnival PLC and in the US as Carnival Corp.
The US Senate on Wednesday approved a USD2.2 trillion spending bill that sets aside USD500 billion for large corporations, but stipulates that money can only be given to firms "created or organised in the US."
Rightmove was down 5.2% after the real estate agent cancelled the payment of its final dividend for 2019 of 4.4 pence per share, due to the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.
In addition, the FTSE 100 property portal said it would not be able to quantify the impact of the virus on its financial and trading performance at this time, and has suspended all existing financial guidance for 2020.
Retailer Next was 6.0% lower after it was forced into a U-turn over its decision to keep warehouses open and ask workers to travel into stores for picking online orders.
The company now has shut its online operations, from Thursday evening, and stop taking orders.
Bosses have faced sustained pressure from politicians and staff, who felt like they were being pressured into stores. On Wednesday, it was revealed that the company had offered a 20% pay rise to any worker willing to continue picking jumpers, socks and other clothes for customers.
Also struggling on Friday morning, SSE was down 5.3%, but still intends to recommend a dividend of 80 pence per share for its financial year ending March 31, as the growing spread of Covid-19 makes no material impact on the group's performance for the period.
However, before any impact of Covid-19, the FTSE 100 electricity utility said it expects adjusted earnings per share to be at the lower end of its expected 83 pence to 88p range, but still representing a rise from 67.1p the year before.
SSE said its adjusted operating profit for the year will show a high single-digit percentage year-on-year drop in SSEN Transmission, SSEN Distribution and investment in SGN, due to lower than expected Distribution Use of System electricity volumes and a greater number of network faults.
However there would be a 25% increase in adjusted operating profit for SSE Renewables, driven by a full year of output from the Beatrice offshore wind farm.
In the midcaps, Provident Financial was down 14%.
The subprime lender said its expects the Covid-19 outbreak to hit its credit issued and collections performance, but noted it was too early to quantify the potential financial impact.
"We remain heavily focused on managing capital and liquidity through: tightening underwriting across each of our businesses, particularly in respect of new business in Moneybarn where loan values are higher and demand is expected to reduce in the coming weeks - our focus in all three businesses is on supporting our existing customers; maintaining tight control of costs in each business, particularly discretionary spend; and preserving our capital and liquidity positions where possible," Provident added.
As a result, the company is cancelling its 16.0 pence final dividend for 2019, saving about GBP40 million.
In commodities, gold was quoted at USD1,616.60 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD1,627.35 on Thursday. Brent oil was at USD26.04 a barrel, down from USD27.06.
Still to come, US personal consumption expenditure index data at 1230 GMT - the core reading is the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation - and the US House of Representatives will vote on its coronavirus stimulus package on Friday. The Senate has already passed the USD2.2 trillion bill.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
