London pre-open: Stocks seen muted despite downbeat Asian session
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 30 Mar 2020
(Sharecast News) - London stocks looked set for a muted open on Monday despite a downbeat session in Asia, as investors continued to mull the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The FTSE 100 was called to open four points lower at 5,505.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "Asian stocks kicked off the week on a mixed note. The ASX 200 gained 4.95%, Nikkei fell 2.76%, as Hang Seng (-1.29%) and Shanghai's Composite (-1.59%) traded in the red.
"US and European stock futures were flat-to-positive however, hinting that investors are undecided on the direction they would take at the opening bell. The hesitation suggests that we may see a soothed volatility across the equity markets, although the energy-heavy FTSE 100 will likely remain under the shadow of a 5% drop in oil prices as a result of the cancellation of whatever was left from the Easter holiday plans."
In corporate news, budget airline easyJet said it was grounding its entire fleet in response to "unprecedented" travel restrictions and lockdowns imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The company said it had reached agreement with the Unite union on furlough arrangements for its cabin crew. The deal would be effective from April 1 for two months and meant that crew will be paid 80% of their average pay through the government's job retention scheme.
Shopping centre owner Hammerson pulled its final dividend and guidance as government lockdowns forced many of its tenants to shutter their stores.
Smith & Nephew has withdrawn its annual financial guidance after the spread of Covid-19 made it clear business would not return to normal as early as it expected.
In the first quarter underlying revenue growth was about 8% lower than a year earlier. Second-quarter revenue and the trading margin for the first half will also be substantially down, the company said.
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