(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Friday morning, rebounding marginally from Thursday's painful session, as fears over the Covid-19 virus eased a bit, allowing bargain hunters to come into the market.
The FTSE 100 index was up 146.42 points, or 2.7%, at 5,383.90 on Friday, after falling to the lowest levels in more than seven years on Thursday. Since the week began, the blue-chip index is down 15%. It is down 31% so far in 2020.
"Cheaper sterling and steady oil should give some support to the index, but gains remain fragile," noted Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 155.91 points, or 1.0%, at 15,873.33, and the AIM All-Share index was up 1.4% at 745.17.
The Cboe UK 100 index was 1.4% higher at 9,094.82. The Cboe 250 was up 0.6% at 13,896.88, and the Cboe Small Companies down 0.1% at 9,950.25.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 2.2%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 1.9%.
European countries are banning gatherings, cancelling events and shutting down schools, universities and shops in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19. Nations including Austria, Portugal, France, Denmark and Norway have closed schools and universities, while restrictions were announced on sporting events and public spaces across the continent.
US President Donald Trump has imposed a 30-day ban on travellers from 26 European countries in the Schengen border-free travel area starting from Friday.
It came as deaths in Europe's worst-hit country, Italy, topped 1,000, with restaurants, cafes, museums, and all shops except pharmacies and food stores closed and strict restrictions placed on personal movement in a nationwide lockdown.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2607 early Friday, up from USD1.2512 at the London equities close Thursday, but still down 3.4%. The euro was at USD1.1193 early Friday, up from USD1.1077 late Thursday.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY105.91 early Friday in London, marginally higher from JPY105.62 late Thursday.
Brent oil was quoted at USD34.04 a barrel, up from USD32.82 late Thursday. Brent oil started 2020 around USD66 mark, but the price has dropped significantly in recent weeks amid lower demand due to coronavirus and a breakdown in a output-limiting accord between OPEC and other big producing nations.
Gold was quoted at USD1,583.66 an ounce early Friday, higher than USD1,572.65 late Thursday.
The Nikkei 225 index closed down 6.1% in Tokyo on Friday. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed down 1.0%. The Shanghai Composite closed down 1.2%. However, Sydney closed higher on Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 4.4% higher after having been down 4.2% earlier in the day.
On the LSE, Barclays was among the best performers in the FTSE 100 index, up 7.0%, respectively, in early trade, as Citigroup raised the bank to Neutral from Sell. Citigroup also raised Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Lloyds Banking to Buy from Neutral. RBS was up 4.0% on Friday morning, while Lloyds was up 1.7%.
In the red was Carnival, down 9.9%. On Thursday, the company said its Princess Cruises division will voluntarily pause its global operations in response to the "unpredictable circumstances" evolving from the spread of covid-19 virus.
"In proactive response to the unpredictable circumstances evolving from the global spread of covid-19 and in an abundance of caution, Princess Cruises announced that it will voluntarily pause global operations of its 18 cruise ships for two months, impacting voyages departing March 12 to May 10," the travel leisure company said.
Among London mid-caps, Premier Oil was the best performer, up 25%. The company said it continues to perform well with production to the end of February of 76,600 barrels of oil equivalent a day. The company's annual output guidance stands between 70,000 to 75,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, excluding the proposed UK acquisitions.
With regards to the proposed acquisitions and extension to the company's credit facilities, the court hearing to sanction the creditor schemes of arrangement is scheduled to start on Tuesday next week, Premier noted.
Elsewhere, Premier said it retains "significant" liquidity. It has unrestricted cash of USD135 million and undrawn facilities of USD330 million, as at the end of February. As well as maintaining liquidity, Premier is focused on managing its forward covenant position which could be hurt by the current oil price weakness, the company said.
In UK political news, EU negotiators will not travel to London next week for the second round of talks on a post-Brexit trade deal due to the coronavirus outbreak, it has been announced. In a joint statement, the EU and UK negotiating teams said they were looking at "alternative ways" of continuing the negotiations, including video conferencing.
"Given the latest Covid-19 developments, UK and EU negotiators have today jointly decided not to hold next week's round of negotiations in London, in the form originally scheduled," the statement said.
"Both sides are currently exploring alternative ways to continue discussions, including if possible the use of video conferences."
Boris Johnson is adamant he wants a comprehensive trade deal in place by the end of the year, and that he will not seek an extension to the current Brexit transition period.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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Barclays (BARC)
Carnival (CCL)
