Stimulus hopes boost FTSE 100 after worst day since 2008

Trader works at his desk whilst screens show market data at CMC Markets in London

Reuters: London’s FTSE 100 bounced back on Tuesday from its worst session since the 2008 financial crisis, as investors bet on coordinated stimulus measures by major central banks to shield the global economy from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 1.4%, after falling to its lowest level since 2016 on Monday as a crash in oil prices fanned fears of a sharp slowdown in global growth.

BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc tracked a rebound in oil prices after closing Monday with their worst session on record.

Investor attention in Britain will be on a budget speech by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak today for clues on additional stimulus from the Bank of England.

A 26% jump for Premier Oil helped the domestically focussed mid-cap index add 1.1%. Aerospace firm Meggit fell 1.2% to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after Berenberg downgraded it to “hold” and cut its price target.