UK markets rebound following coronavirus panic

The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 1.7%, while the mid-cap index was up 2%.

Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell added 4% each, tracking oil prices, and were the biggest boosts to the FTSE 100.

Both benchmark indexes had closed on Friday with their biggest weekly declines since the 2008 financial crisis as the outbreak threatened to blow into a global pandemic and cripple supply chains.

Investors now expect central banks around the world to launch a coordinated effort to cut interest rates and shore up growth. Bets of the U.S. Federal Reserve reducing rates this month stand at 100%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Miners, airlines and luxury goods makers which were among the worst hit sectors last week, were up between 1.6% and 2.4%.

Investor attention in Britain will also turn to fresh Brexit negotiations, starting Monday, that aim to hammer out a trade deal by the end of the year to govern everything from aviation to fisheries and student exchanges.

The rebound comes after pandemic fears pushed markets off a precipice last week, wiping more than $5 trillion from global share value as stocks cratered to their steepest slump in more than a decade.

The sheer scale of losses prompted financial markets to price in policy responses from the U.S. Federal Reserve to the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Futures now imply a full 50 basis point cut by the Fed in March while Australian markets are pricing in a quarter-point cut at the RBA’s Tuesday meeting.

Also helping calm market nerves, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank would take necessary steps to stabilise financial markets. [