London close: Stocks manage to finish positive as pound rebounds

London stocks managed to finish just above the waterline on Friday, having slowly lost much of their earlier gains through the afternoon, as investors welcomed central bank intervention but continued to digest the tidal wave of Covid-19 profit warnings and dividend cancellations.

The FTSE 100 ended the session up 0.09% at 5,156.33, and the FTSE 250 was 5.95% firmer at 13,592.64.

Sterling racked up gains against its major trading pairs as well, rising 2.07% against the dollar to last trade at $1.1723, and adding 2.36% on the euro to €1.0996.

The recovering pound meant the benchmark’s gains were markedly less pronounced than those on the continent, where Germany’s DAX rose 3.7% and France’s CAC 40 was 4.98% higher.

On Thursday, the Bank of England slashed interest rates to a record low of 0.1% from 0.25% and announced another £200bn of bond buying, while the Federal Reserve extended US dollar swap lines to a host of smaller central banks including Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Brazil to help alleviate pressure on their falling currencies.

“Central banks around the world have not shied away from the task this week, with many holding unscheduled meetings, cutting interest rates and announcing other measures to support their economies," said Oanda's Craig Erlam.

“At least 14 central banks have cut interest rates while the Fed, ECB and BoE are all once again aggressively buying assets.”

“The Fed has also announced numerous other measures to ensure the plumbing of the financial system is still functioning as needed.”

Erlam said that, with the number of cases still accelerating around the globe and countries increasingly moving towards lockdown, he did not see this as being the bottom.

“We often talk about green shoots during times of economic slowdowns and recessions but stocks have fallen so far, it may just take signs of momentum loss in the number of new coronavirus cases to pique investors interest once again.”

Earlier, the Bank of England announced that it had cancelled annual stress tests for major banks to help it focus on lending during the coronavirus crisis.

The test is designed to see how the banking system would hold up in the event of a major shock and was implemented after the 2008 financial shock, which was caused by misconduct in merchant banking.

It said the cancellation was "intended to help lenders focus on meeting the needs of UK households and businesses via the continuing provision of credit".

In equity markets, Premier Inn owner Whitbread and budget airline easyJet - both of which have been hit hard of late amid concerns about the impact of the coronavirus - were on the front foot, rising 11.21% and 18.3%, respectively.

InterContinental Hotels rallied 15.45% even as it warned that global revenue per available room was set to tumble 60% in March due to the coronavirus outbreak and scrapped its dividend, with demand for hotels currently at the lowest levels it has ever seen.

Pub group JD Wetherspoon surged 28.18% despite cancelling its interim dividend and warning on full-year profits as the coronavirus and government advice to stay away from pubs and restaurants hit current sales.

Shares of fellow pub chain Mitchells & Butlers also fizzed higher, by 20.24%.

Property portal Rightmove was 11.39% weaker after saying revenue will take a hit as it cuts agent charges by 75% amid a slowdown in the UK housing market on the back of the pandemic.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,190.78 0.76%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 13,592.64 5.95%
techMARK (TASX) 3,067.50 2.83%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Carnival (CCL) 885.80p 20.16%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 379.20p 18.72%
easyJet (EZJ) 600.00p 18.30%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,754.00p 15.45%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,360.00p 14.36%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,166.50p 12.22%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 408.20p 11.93%
Meggitt (MGGT) 248.90p 11.51%
CRH (CRH) 1,775.00p 11.29%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,341.00p 11.21%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

M&G (MNG) 109.00p -13.42%
Rightmove (RMV) 420.90p -11.39%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 380.10p -11.09%
Schroders (SDR) 2,350.00p -8.02%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 806.40p -7.92%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,321.50p -7.91%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,870.00p -7.70%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 99.50p -7.23%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 113.80p -6.91%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,396.50p -6.62%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Future (FUTR) 820.00p 36.67%
WH Smith (SMWH) 945.00p 34.90%
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 1,212.00p 31.60%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 629.00p 29.69%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 199.60p 28.77%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 618.00p 27.69%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 38.26p 27.53%
National Express Group (NEX) 133.50p 27.14%
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 97.00p 26.47%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 650.00p 26.09%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Capita (CPI) 32.41p -22.61%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 309.20p -11.66%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 153.20p -8.81%
Just Group (JUST) 45.20p -8.17%
Trainline (TRN) 225.50p -7.96%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 114.04p -7.96%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 107.80p -7.07%
BMO Commercial Property Trust Limited (BCPT) 45.15p -7.00%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 343.00p -6.74%
G4S (GFS) 91.74p -6.69%