Almost £160billion was wiped off UK shares as fears of an impending global recession hit pensions and savings funds.
At the close of trading, the index finished at 5,237, down 639 points, the biggest drop since October 20, 1987 – the day after Black Monday, when the FTSE 100 fell by 12.2 per cent.
Supriya Menon, senior strategist at Pictet Asset Management, said: “We can call this a market crash, particularly given the speed and sharpness, as well as the size of declines. The question is whether this will cause a recession.”
The panic, which was replicated around the world, came after the World Health Organisation upgraded the coronavirus outbreak to a pandemic on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank later unveiled measures to combat the disease’s effect on the economy, including a package of Quantitative Easing (QE) worth €120billion (£106.5billion). The process has a similar effect to printing money and increases the flow of cash through the economy.
But it failed to calm markets as ECB president Christine Lagarde failed to cut interest rates, like the US and UK have.
Last night the US Federal Reserve announced a further $500billion (£397billion) of QE in a bid to stabilise its markets.
It came amid a global market bloodbath for investors, which saw £2.4trillion wiped off the value of listed firms globally in one day.
Stock markets in Europe also suffered their worst ever daily collapse. And airline shares nosedived after Donald Trump announced a temporary ban on flights from 26 European countries.
[https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/21044/425643/5e6ba533c4605/1584112767996.jpg]
Budget airline Norwegian responded by grounding 40 per cent of its long-haul aircraft and temporarily laying off half of its 11,000-strong workforce, warning the figure may increase. While currency giant Travelex said the outbreak was affecting its ability to get enough cash to keep its holiday money arm running smoothly.
And shares in WHSmith plunged by a fifth as the retailer forecast that takings at its shops in UK airports would be down 35 per cent this month and n...
At the close of trading, the index finished at 5,237, down 639 points, the biggest drop since October 20, 1987 – the day after Black Monday, when the FTSE 100 fell by 12.2 per cent.
Supriya Menon, senior strategist at Pictet Asset Management, said: “We can call this a market crash, particularly given the speed and sharpness, as well as the size of declines. The question is whether this will cause a recession.”
The panic, which was replicated around the world, came after the World Health Organisation upgraded the coronavirus outbreak to a pandemic on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank later unveiled measures to combat the disease’s effect on the economy, including a package of Quantitative Easing (QE) worth €120billion (£106.5billion). The process has a similar effect to printing money and increases the flow of cash through the economy.
But it failed to calm markets as ECB president Christine Lagarde failed to cut interest rates, like the US and UK have.
Last night the US Federal Reserve announced a further $500billion (£397billion) of QE in a bid to stabilise its markets.
It came amid a global market bloodbath for investors, which saw £2.4trillion wiped off the value of listed firms globally in one day.
Stock markets in Europe also suffered their worst ever daily collapse. And airline shares nosedived after Donald Trump announced a temporary ban on flights from 26 European countries.
[https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/21044/425643/5e6ba533c4605/1584112767996.jpg]
Budget airline Norwegian responded by grounding 40 per cent of its long-haul aircraft and temporarily laying off half of its 11,000-strong workforce, warning the figure may increase. While currency giant Travelex said the outbreak was affecting its ability to get enough cash to keep its holiday money arm running smoothly.
And shares in WHSmith plunged by a fifth as the retailer forecast that takings at its shops in UK airports would be down 35 per cent this month and n...
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Daily Express (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 13, 2020