NMC Health sliding again drags FTSE

A move by China’s central bank to prop up the economy dented by the spread of the coronavirus has helped to assuage some investors' concerns in Europe, lifting the FTSE and other European gauges. Banks and China-facing stocks such as miners and airlines led the FTSE rally, helped by news that the rise in the number of new virus cases slowed down over the weekend.

The day ahead is likely to be quieter than usual as the US remains closed for President’s Day and some of the key economic releases are due only later this week.

On the FTSE, the embattled NMC Health is sliding again this morning after the drain from its board continued over admissions of dubious shareholdings. The company’s co-chairman BR Shetty and director Abdulrahman Basaddiq stepped down over the weekend following questions over the group’s ownership. But the storm over NMC Health may be not far from settling, a view echoed by investors as the buy requests on the share started to pick up.

Euro picks up, pound struggles

The euro bounced back from last week’s 2% drop and is trading up 0.14% this morning ahead of the German ZEW economic sentiment data tomorrow. The weakness in the German economy has been the main reason for the euro’s recent slide and tomorrow’s numbers may not offer much of a reprieve. Sterling is also struggling to hold its ground against the dollar, particularly after negative comments from France over the weekend about the prospects of the EU/UK trade talks

Brent crude is also sliding again after a brief moment of optimism over the weekend to trade down 0.16%. The long term effects of the coronavirus have yet to fully become apparent, including for China’s oil consumption, leading to plenty of uncertainty among oil trraders.

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