London open: Stocks dip amid coronavirus concerns; NMC Health surges

London stocks edged lower in early trade on Monday amid ongoing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, as the UK declared it a "serious and imminent threat" to the public.

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,449.59.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "All you need is liquidity...coronavirus is at the forefront of the risk radar this week, but all the markets really care about is liquidity. New cases in China are stabilising but it’s now more deadly than SARS was. What’s still unknown is the real economic damage this has wrought.

"China gets back to work today after its extended New Year holiday. But there will not be the immediate restarting of every factory assembly line. Mask shortages and a problem with displaced workers getting back home following the new year holiday means this is not business as usual. Moreover there is ample evidence that local authorities are taking a more cautious approach and mandating a later return to work in their localities than Beijing says - March 1st in some cases."

He pointed to the fact that the city of Shenzhen has rejected a request by Foxconn to resume production at a key plant in the city.

On home shores, the Department of Health said it had designated Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside and Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes as an "isolation" facility as it declared the coronavirus a "serious and immiment threat" to the British public.

Wuhan and Hubei province in China were declared an "infected area" by health secretary Matt Hancock.

This came as the death toll in China rose to 908, with more than 40,000 cases confirmed globally, four in the UK.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "We are strengthening our regulations so we can keep individuals in supported isolation for their own safety and if public health professionals consider they may be at risk of spreading the virus to other members of the public.

"This measure will rightly make it easier for health professionals to help keep people safe across the country."

In equity markets, budget airline easyJet was the standout loser, followed closely by Premier Inn owner Whitbread, which was hit by a downgrade to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs.

Going the other way, shares of NMC Health surged as it confirmed it had received "highly preliminary" approaches from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and GK Investment Holding Group regarding possible offers for the company. The Middle East hospital operator also said its founder and chairman BR Shetty is conducting a legal review into potential historical inaccuracies relating to his own stake in the firm and those of three other shareholders.

William Hill was on the front foot following a Sunday Times report that the company is in the final stages of announcing a landmark US partnership with national broadcaster CBS.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,449.59 -0.23%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,496.16 -0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 4,145.43 -0.04%

FTSE 100 - Risers

NMC Health (NMC) 771.00p 10.14%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,286.00p 0.82%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 8,478.00p 0.50%
Evraz (EVR) 399.40p 0.48%
Meggitt (MGGT) 668.00p 0.30%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,946.00p 0.27%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,038.00p 0.27%
CRH (CRH) 2,985.00p 0.24%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 801.20p 0.23%
BAE Systems (BA.) 656.40p 0.21%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

easyJet (EZJ) 1,476.00p -2.28%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,526.00p -2.01%
Centrica (CNA) 84.00p -1.34%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,214.50p -1.22%
3i Group (III) 1,137.00p -0.92%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,816.00p -0.85%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 221.10p -0.81%
Aveva Group (AVV) 5,170.00p -0.77%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 5,084.00p -0.74%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,758.00p -0.74%

FTSE 250 - Risers

William Hill (WMH) 179.15p 3.52%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 115.60p 3.40%
Hyve Group (HYVE) 98.00p 2.83%
Finablr (FIN) 73.00p 2.10%
Trainline (TRN) 512.00p 1.99%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 1,058.00p 1.54%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 178.95p 1.47%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 502.00p 1.33%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 383.00p 1.27%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,300.00p 1.23%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 71.65p -4.72%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 998.00p -2.73%
Hunting (HTG) 300.00p -2.41%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 2,000.00p -1.96%
IP Group (IPO) 64.80p -1.67%
Future (FUTR) 1,230.00p -1.60%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 158.00p -1.56%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 925.00p -1.44%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 898.80p -1.34%
Redrow (RDW) 760.00p -1.30%