British stock market rebounds amid coronavirus crisis … but concerns remain British companies "burn through Brexit stocks"

The London stock market has rebounded slightly from its worst week since the global financial crisis despite concerns from British companies that "are burning their Brexit security stocks" due to coronaviruses and floods.

The global coronavirus pandemic sparked a manic sale of stocks last week, but city floors appear much calmer on Monday after assurances from the Bank of England.

The Bank is committed to protecting the UK economy from the impact of the coronavirus by saying that it would take "all necessary steps" to do so, alongside the Bank of Japan and of the US Federal Reserve by promising to act when needed.

The British FTSE 100 opened higher than expected this morning with a mini-push as investors joined the explosion of optimism in the city's parquet floors.

Leading FTSE 100 companies rebounded up 2.2% after falling to their lowest level since 2016 on Friday, while the mid-cap index was up 1.9%.

The gains were drawn by big oil companies BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, as hopes of a lower supply pushed up oil prices.

Miners, airlines and luxury goods manufacturers rose 0.3% to 2.9% after being hit last week in a global sale that wiped out more than $ 5 trillion from stock markets .

The smaller FTSE 250 index rebounded 2.5%, or 483 points.

But while the push should reassure pensioners, UBS Global Wealth Management warned that the crisis was not yet over.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicts that an escalation in the coronavirus epidemic could cut global economic growth by half and plunge several countries into recession.

The virus epidemic has hit eurozone supply chains and factories in the UK and Europe are suffering from long delays in sourcing raw materials from countries like the China.

The recent UK storms and floods have also had an impact and have led companies to "burn their Brexit security stocks", according to IHS Markit, provider of business information.

And the UK financial market is already starting to lose some of its earlier gains after falling 100 points to 77 points from its 177 point opening in the first hour of trading.

Interest rate sensitive banks lagged behind the general rally on Monday, investors expecting central banks to cut rates after data showed that credit card activity Chinese factories were battered by the health crisis, which infected more than 87,000 people and killed nearly 3,000.

Traders, however, report a much quieter atmosphere in the city today with Russ Mold, chief investment officer at AJ Bell, telling the Guardian: "There has been a semi-reversal of sector trends in recent weeks with stocks linked to health care and infrastructure which are no longer in favor and strongly industrial and mining stocks sold, causing the rise.

However, the airlines were still in the doldrums with International Consolidated Airlines down 6% and EasyJet down 1.4%.

The big question is whether a rebound of a few days is enough to repair the sentiment of damaged investors or whether it is simply a dead cat before the fears resume.

It would not be surprising to see fund managers with alternative liquidity take advantage of market liquidation and buy companies at a discount.

The CME group's FedWatch tool now attributes a 100% chance that the Fed will reduce borrowing costs at its two-day meeting ending March 18.

"The rate cuts are not going to help supply chains or global businesses," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

"We often see this in markets where (the driver is not) the correct solution to the problem, but what injects more liquidity into the system."

More cases of the virus were reported this weekend, with the disease spreading more deeply in the United States and Europe. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to chair a meeting of the emergency response committee after the number of cases surged on Sunday.

In the news business, Senior, a supplier to Boeing, climbed 11.9% to the top of the mid-cap index after saying it was taking firm steps to restructure its business and ensure a return to growth in 2021. The stock on track for its best day in a decade.

The insurer Hiscox jumped 6.6% after declaring that it had received small claims related to the epidemic, because a pandemic is only covered in a very small part of its portfolio.

Drug maker Hikma Pharmaceuticals rose 5.1% after Barclays raised its price target.

The attention of investors in Britain will also be on new Brexit negotiations, starting Monday, which aim to conclude a trade deal by the end of the year to govern everything, from aviation to fishing and student exchanges.