FTSE drops on Centrica Barclays and Chinese numbers

The FTSE is struggling this morning, weighed down by losses at Centrica, Barclays’ missed profit and a new way of diagnosing the coronavirus.

Britain’s largest energy supplier Centrica blamed the cap on household energy bills for a loss of more than £1bn in the last financial year and the decline in commodity prices prompted the firm to write down the value of its oil and gas assets. Shares tumbled around 17% in early trade but still managed to hold above the 12-month low of 64p, a testament to a tumultuous year of trading for the stock.

Barclays bank is facing a whole different set of problems now that its chief executive is being investigated by UK financial authorities over his links to the convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Coronavirus spike in context

Latest reports from China indicate that the number of coronavirus-related deaths has risen to the highest level so far but these should be taken in context. China has changed the way it diagnoses infected patients and has broadened the parameters to include a wider range of symptoms. There has been no retroactive analysis yet that would show if there has actually been an increase in cases measuring like for like, but in the past epidemiologists have said that the peak of the spread is likely to happen at the end of February or in early March.

Oil firms and miners reacted the worst to the China numbers, among them the heavily traded Glencore, Shell and BP. The latter two were also affected by a report from the International Energy Agency saying that the outbreak of the coronavirus could reduce the demand for oil by as much as 30% this year, with the worst decline expected in the current quarter. Brent crude prices dropped around 1% on the news while WTI lost 0.6%.

From time to time, StoneX Financial Pty Ltd (“we”, “our”) website may contain links to other sites and/or resources provided by third parties. These links and/or resources are provided for your information only and we have no control over the contents of those materials, and in no way endorse their content. Any analysis, opinion, commentary or research-based material on our website is for information and educational purposes only and is not, in any circumstances, intended to be an offer, recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell. You should always seek independent advice as to your suitability to speculate in any related markets and your ability to assume the associated risks, if you are at all unsure. No representation or warranty is made, express or implied, that the materials on our website are complete or accurate. We are not under any obligation to update any such material.

As such, we (and/or our associated companies) will not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage incurred by you or any third party arising out of, or in connection with, any use of the information on our website (other than with regards to any duty or liability that we are unable to limit or exclude by law or under the applicable regulatory system) and any such liability is hereby expressly disclaimed.

City Index is a trading name of StoneX Financial Pty Ltd.

The material provided herein is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs.

While every care has been taken in preparing this material, we do not provide any representation or warranty (express or implied) with respect to its completeness or accuracy. This is not an invitation or an offer to invest nor is it a recommendation to buy or sell investments.

StoneX recommends you to seek independent financial and legal advice before making any financial investment decision. Trading CFDs and FX on margin carries a higher level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The possibility exists that you could lose more than your initial investment further CFD investors do not own or have any rights to the underlying assets.

It is important you consider our Financial Services Guide and Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) available at www.cityindex.com/en-au/terms-and-policies/, before deciding to acquire or hold our products. As a part of our market risk management, we may take the opposite side of your trade. Our Target Market Determination (TMD) is also available at www.cityindex.com/en-au/terms-and-policies/.

StoneX Financial Pty Ltd, Suite 28.01, 264 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 (ACN 141 774 727, AFSL 345646) is the CFD issuer and our products are traded off exchange.