UK stocks bounce 1.7% on central bank stimulus hopes

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UK stocks bounced in early trade on Tuesday, recouping a portion of Monday's devastating losses, as expectations grew that global central banks will act to buffer economic damage caused by the spreading coronavirus. At 0820, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 99.98 points, or 1.7%, at 6.065.75.

Wealth manager Standard Life Aberdeen added 1.3% to 242.43p, even as it posted a 10% fall in adjusted annual profit, after net outflows from its funds sapped it of fee revenue.

Standard Life Aberdeen said the outlook for markets and the wealth management industry in 2020 was 'turbulent', given additional complexity created by COVID-19.

Fellow fund manager M&G, which was recently spun out of insurer Prudential, declined 1.7% to 169.5p, as it too posted a fall in adjusted annual profit, having also experienced net outflows from its funds. Publishing company Informa gained 3.4% to 583p after it reported a rise in profit, with revenue boosted by its merger with UBM and favourable currency moves.

Informa did, however, warn the coronavirus would affect its events-related businesses.

Defence contractor Ultra Electronics rallied 9.8% to £20.92 as it more than doubled its annual profit and raised its dividend 5%, having won new contracts, particularly in North America.

Inter-dealer broker TP ICAP shed 0.4% to 353.1p, even as it booked a 50% rise in annual profit following the completion of a three-year merger integration programme.

TP ICAP, however, also warned of an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop as the coronavirus spreads.

Pizza delivery chain Domino's Pizza rose 4.1% to 296.3p on news thatit had appointed Matt Shattock as its new chairman. Shattock was currently chairman of Beam Suntory, a role he had held since April 2019.

Auto dealer Marshall Motor reversed 5.1% to 136.26p, having posted a fall in annual adjusted profit as 'challenging' market conditions put pressure on its margins.

Struggling apparel retailer French Connection said its annual results fell short of its expectations despite reporting narrower losses as revenue continued to fall amid a gloomy backdrop for retailers on the UK High Street. Its shares were untraded at 17.13p.

Video games developer Team17 added 4.4% to 537.5p as it more than doubled its annual profit, after it released seven new games in 2019 and also boosted sales of third-party titles.

Digital education services provider Learning Technologies gained 6.8% to 137.8p, having agreed to acquire Open LMS from Blackboard for $31.7m.