Markets Overview:

UK 100 called to open -110 points points at 5595.  This comes on the back of a sharp fall in oil prices took the wind out of yesterdays global rally.  The fall was prompted by Iran's oil minister saying that Iran did not agree with meeting for an emergency OPEC+ scheduled for tomorrow with no clear outcome in place.  The White House is working on plans to reopen the economy with an expanded virus testing program, people familiar said. It would likely start in small cities not heavily hit, while hot spots like New York would stay shut.  However it was a mixed trading session in Asia, the Nikkei closed +403 points, a gain of 2.13% to trade at 19,353.  A more subdued session in Hong Kong saw the Hang Seng closing in the red, falling by 332 points, or 1.37% to trade at 23,920.  At the peak of its fall Crude oil fell by as much as 7% overnight, however it has bounced from lows to trade at $29 per barrel.

Company News:

ASOS has stated it has raised £247m via a share placing to help shore up its finances in case of a prolonged business downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic. It has placed 15.8m new shares at a price of £15.60 per share (18.8% of its ordinary share capital).

Aviva announces that they have withdrawn their 2019 final dividend payment due in June 2020.

Direct Line have withdrawn their FY 2019 dividend.

Drax Group announce that their CEO Andy Koss has resigned from his position with immediate effect.

RSA Insurance have announced they are to suspend its final dividend payment of 15.6p relating to 2019.

Tesco have reported that they expect to take a hit of up to £925m from the costs of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and warned it was unable to give a profit forecast for this financial year. They reported +14% rise in operating profit which was broadly in line with market expectations.

Reporting Today:

FCA has asked UK companies to delay results

for at least two weeks to prevent investors acting on out-of-date information

Reporting Tomorrow:

FCA has asked UK companies to delay results

for at least two weeks to prevent investors acting on out-of-date information

In Focus Today:

EU - ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts

UK - GDP

UK - Industrial Production Data Data

US - Jobless Claims

Tomorrow's Ex Dividends:

UK 100 :

DS Smith

:

Cineworld

Direct Line Group

4Imprint

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