Bruised investors closed the books on the biggest quarterly drop for US equities since the financial crisis on Tuesday, as a late sell-off in the final trading session brought losses to 20 per cent since the start of the year.

US stocks kicked off the week on a strong footing with their fourth positive session in the past five, but a cautious mood still prevailed as investors considered the impact of the record US stimulus package and a fall in oil prices to their lowest point in 18 years.

BNY Mellon has appointed Todd Gibbons as its chief executive, elevating him from interim CEO, after a six month search for a successor to Charlie Scharf who left to run Wells Fargo.

Mercedes, Formula One and London university engineers have developed a breathing aid for coronavirus patients in intensive care as British industry steps up its efforts to provide life-saving technology to bolster frontline services.

Another senior UK government figure has gone into self-isolation after developing symptoms of coronavirus, following Boris Johnson’s diagnosis last week.

British industry is stepping up plans to supply tens of thousands of ventilators for treating coronavirus patients in efforts reminiscent of a wartime economic push. 

US stocks snapped a three-day winning streak on Friday as investors refocused on the wide economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic while President Donald Trump prepared to sign a historic US stimulus bill into law. 

Rolls-Royce is suspending production for a week at its UK civil aero-engine factories, following similar measures taken by aerospace companies from Airbus to Safran, as the industry struggles with the constraints imposed by the spreading coronavirus pandemic. 

Most German companies have put hiring plans on hold and many of them are planning to lay off workers because of the coronavirus crisis. But analysts are divided on how much the country’s short-term work subsidy scheme will cushion the blow.

Wall Street recorded its first three-day rally since February on Thursday as investors digested an unprecedented surge in US unemployment claims and looked ahead to a $2tn stimulus package that had cleared the US Senate overnight. 

A little-known Norwegian hedge fund manager is taking over as chief executive of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund just as the coronavirus crisis presents it with its sternest test.

February’s bad weather kept Britain’s shoppers at home and resulted in a fall in retail sales even before the coronavirus pandemic led to the closure of all non-essential shops.

US equities recorded their first back-to-back daily gains in more than a month as US legislators worked to finalise an emergency stimulus bill to provide $2tn in relief to taxpayers and businesses struggling with the effects of coronavirus.

US stocks had their best day since the financial crisis more than a decade ago on Tuesday, on signs that Congress was closing in on an agreement for a potent fiscal stimulus package to alleviate the economic and financial market effects of the coronavirus.

A promise of unprecedented government and corporate bond buying from the Federal Reserve helped push down US borrowing costs on Monday, but equity markets ended in the red as investors anxiously awaited the second half of the US authorities’ response to the coronavirus crisis, namely a fiscal stimulus being wrangled on Capitol Hill.

Canada’s Endeavour Mining has agreed to combine with Semafo in a C$1bn ($690m) deal to create the largest gold miner in West Africa, in the latest push to consolidate operations in the fragmented gold mining sector.

Wall Street failed to record two consecutive days in positive territory, succumbing to a late sell-off that sent the S&P 500 down 4.3 per cent on Friday and left the index nursing a 15 per cent decline for the week, even as equity markets elsewhere staged a recovery.

Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, briefly rose above $30 a barrel in the European morning, pushed higher by new government measures to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus and reports that President Donald Trump could intervene in the Russia-Saudi price war.

The S&P 500 has taken 14 sessions to notch up a daily move at the closing bell of less than 1 per cent in what might seem like a relative relief after days including the biggest plunge since 1987’s Black Monday and the largest one-day gain since 2008.

Global stocks, government bonds and oil prices rose on Thursday in response to a flurry of emergency packages from central banks intended to buffer economies and financial markets from the conoravirus pandemic.

The US Federal Reserve is broadening the swap lines it has set up to boost US dollar funding markets to additional countries including large emerging markets such as Brazil and Mexico as well as European nations including Denmark and Sweden.

Swiss bank Credit Suisse said it was on course to deliver strong performance in the first quarter of the year, despite the market chaos caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

EnQuest is to abandon production at two North Sea fields as the UK oil producer laid out plans to slash spending and sought to reassure over its liquidity.

Global stocks closed higher on Tuesday after the US Federal Reserve worked to shore up corporate funding markets and governments on both sides of the Atlantic set out stimulus packages designed to counter the economic impact of the coronavirus.

German investor sentiment about the economy plummeted in March to its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis, as the severe disruption of the coronavirus pandemic shut down much activity across Europe.