The FTSE-100 opened lower for a second consecutive day this morning, and continued to fall as markets respond to cuts from British American Tobacco (BAT). The blue-chip FTSE 100 declined 0.5 percent and at 9.45am the index was down 123.32 at 6349.27. European markets also had a bleak morning, as shares fell in response to BAT.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.3 percent, with eurozone banks down 5.6 percent after a six-day run of gains.
Shares in oil majors Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Total fell between 3.2 percent and 4.7 percent as crude prices pulled back on the spectre of persistent oversupply.
BAT slid 3.5 percent on the FTSE-100 after it cut annual targets, citing a demand hit from stricter lockdown measures in key emerging markets.
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FTSE 100 live: Global stocks extended gains (Image: GETTY)
Emirates workforce is set to shrink by almost a third (Image: GETTY)
5.33pm update: European stocks hit as cyclicals reverse gains
Banks and oil companies led European stocks lower on Tuesday as investors turned wary ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.2 percent, while the main markets in Frankfurt, London and Paris were down between 1.6 percent and 2.1 percent.
After a stunning 46 percent recovery from all-time lows, eurozone banks fell 3.8 percent after an EU financial stability watchdog said banks should not be allowed to pay dividends at least until the end of this year.
Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Total fell between 3 percent and 4.5 percent as oil prices fell due to a stronger dollar and oversupply concerns.
4.30pm update: Sterling rises above $1.27
The pound was driven by dollar moves on Tuesday, rising back above $1.27 but down half a percent against the euro, as shifts in global risk appetite played a bigger role for sterling than domestic issues such as Brexit.
The pound has risen 3.1 percent against the dollar this month, clearing $1.27 for the first time since March, as several countries emerge from coronavirus lockdowns, weakening demand for the safe-haven US currency.
When the dollar strengthened in early London trading, cable fell as much as 0.8 percent.
The dollar then weakened, causing sterling to recover its losses, back above $1.27.
3.13pm update: Emirates lays off thousands of pilots, cabin crew, plans more job cuts
Emirates, one of the world’s biggest long-haul airlines, laid off hundreds of pilots and thousands of cabin crew on Tuesday as it manages a cash crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Five company sources said more job cuts are planned.
Aviation is one of the industries worst hit by the fallout from the virus outbreak, with airlines forced to lay off staff and seek government bailouts.
More redundancies were expected at Emirates this week including both Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 pilots, the sources said on the condition of anonymity.
The workforce of 4,300 pilots and nearly 22,000 cabin crew could shrink by almost a third from its pre-coronavirus levels, three of the sources said.
Without giving further details, an airline spokeswoman told Reuters some employees had been laid off.
She said: “Given the significant impact that the pandemic has had on our business, we simply cannot sustain excess resources and have to right size our workforce in line with our reduced operations.”
A promise by the Dubai government to provide Emirates with new equity would allow it to “preserve its skilled workforce,” the state airline said on May 10.
Emirates has laid off thousands of pilots and cabin staff (Image: GETTY)
2.44pm update: Airline industry headed for huge losses
The coronavirus crisis will lead the airline industry into record annual losses of $84 billion (£66b) as 2020 goes down as the “worst year in the history of aviation”, the sector’s main global body predicted on Tuesday.
Airline passenger traffic is expected to rise 55% in 2021 from its depressed level this year, while still remaining 29 percent below its 2019 level, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in an updated forecast.
2pm update: FTSE 100 update
The FTSE-100 index at 1:45pm was down 113.86 at 6358.73.
1pm update: FTSE 100 update
The FTSE-100 index at 12:45pm was down 104.33 at 6368.26.
12.33pm update: Currencies fall as traders cash in gains
Most G10 currencies fell on Tuesday as investors took profits from the risk-on mood seen in the markets in the past weeks.
The latest cause for exuberance, which drove stock markets higher, was last week’s US jobs data for May – which was better than expected.
The Australian dollar was last down 1.2 percent to 0.6930 after falling nearly 2 percent to 0.6899 – a five-day low.
The New Zealand dollar fell 1 percent to 0.6494, off the four-and-a-half-month high touched earlier.
The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.1277.
11.45am update: FTSE 100 update
The FTSE-100 index at 11:45am was down 109.09 at 6363.50.
The FTSE-100 opened lower on Tuesday (Image: Getty)
10.50am update: FTSE 100 update
The FTSE-100 index at 10:45am was down 85.58 at 6387.01.
10.10am update: FTSE 100 update
The FTSE-100 index at 9:45am was down 123.32 at 6349.27.
10.03am update: ‘Pause in optimist among UK investors’ as FTSE falls
A market analyst has commented on the recent fall in London’s blue chip index.
David Madden, markets analyst at CMC markets UK, said: “There isn’t the same amount of enthusiasm or risk appetite right now for London stocks as opposed to the sentiment we are seeing for US or Asian stocks.
“There is a pause in optimism among investors as London stocks have underperformed other markets globally even before the lockdown restrictions were put to place and continue to show weakness in contrast to other markets.”
9.30am update: FTSE 100 update
The FTSE-100 index at 9:15am was down 59.32 at 6413.27.
9am update: FTSE 100 update
The FTSE-100 index at 8:45am was down 44.84 at 6427.75.
Effect of coronavirus on fuel prices (Image: Express)
8.37am update: FTSE 100 responds to British American Tobacco losses
London’s FTSE 100 index was opened lower on Tuesday due to losses in British American Tobacco, after the company cut its annual profit and revenue forecasts.
The cigarette maker fell 2.8 percent after it flagged a demand hit due to prolonged lockdowns in South Africa and Mexico and weak sales in countries including Bangladesh and Vietnam.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent and the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.2 percent.
8am update: FTSE 100 opens lower
The FTSE-100 index opened at 6472.59.
7.38am update: Holiday rentals firm agree to give customer refunds for coronavirus cancellations
The holiday rentals firm behind Hoseasons and Cottages.com has agreed to give customers refunds for cancelled trips due to the coronavirus crisis after a probe by the competition watchdog.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Vacation Rentals had changed its policy after originally refusing to give money back to customers whose stays had been cancelled.
Vacation Rentals has now given the CMA a formal commitment that it will give affected customers the option of a full refund.
6.27am update: Hong Kong hedge funds seek exit as national security law approaches
Fund managers and traders in Hong Kong are said to be concerned that the industry could clash with China, after the Chinese Communist party approved a plan to impose national security laws targeted at what it called “subversion of state power”.
Speaking to the FT, an adviser who works with hedge funds in the city and elsewhere in the region said: “It will become just another city in China. The hedge fund community will move on to Singapore and elsewhere.”
More than 420 funds are based in the city, according to data from research firm Eurekahedge.
Funds in Hong Kong manage assets are worth almost $91bn, more than is managed in Singapore, Japan and Australia altogether.
Additional reporting by Rachel Russell