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* FTSE 100 down 1.9%
* Prudential boosted by Third Point stake
* Oil slump hits BP, Royal Dutch Shell
(Updates with closing prices, quotes)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani
Feb 25 (Reuters) - London-listed stocks fell sharply to
fresh five-month lows on Tuesday as an increase in coronavirus
cases outside China triggered a second day of selling across
global markets.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 lost 1.9%, a day after
logging its worst session since 2015 with reports of the virus
spreading further, notably in Europe and Iran.
Only a handful of stocks ended the day in positive territory
while banks, consumer goods and energy companies weighed the
most on the UK blue chip benchmark.
With oil prices slipping below $56 a barrel and falling for
a third day, heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell
took heavy losses and fell by about 2.2% each.
While European markets had made timid gains at the open,
sentiment deteriorated through the session.
"The morning bounce in European markets and U.S. futures is
a distant memory, as indices push to new lows thanks to the
ongoing spread of the coronavirus", Chris Beauchamp, chief
market analyst at IG commented.
Wall Street, which also suffered its worst day in two years
during the previous session, briefly opened higher but its three
major stock indexes quickly fell about 1%.
Fears of a pandemic had wiped $1.5 trillion off the value of
world equity markets on Monday.
"The colossal losses that were racked up yesterday
encouraged some bargain hunting at the start of today’s session,
but then old concerns crept in, hence why we are offside again",
said analyst David Madden at CMC Markets UK.
Among the few stocks making it to the black on the FTSE 100
was insurer Prudential Plc, which ended the day flat
after hedge fund Third Point amassed a stake of over $2 billion
and called on the company to split into two.
Credit investor Pollen Street Secured Lending
soared 6.7% to its highest since July 2017 after saying it was
in talks with Waterfall Asset Management about a sale.
British engineer Meggit fell 5.1% after warning of
the effect from the suspended production of Boeing's 737
MAX aircraft and disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak.
Building materials supplier SIG Plc slid 18% to the
bottom of the mid-cap index after saying it was replacing Chief
Executive Meinie Oldersma as it seeks to stem a slide in its
business caused by a weak European construction market.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru and Julien
Ponthus in London; editing by Larry King, William Maclean)
