The price of oil slumped and European share prices were hammered yesterday as fears over the spread of the coronavirus quickened.

The price of oil fell sharply but global stock markets were mixed as investors scrambled to assess the potential fallout to world trade and tourism should the cases of coronavirus increase over the weekend.

The two main US stock indices — the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones — traded at new record highs as President Donald Trump hailed completing ‘phase 1’ of a trade deal between the US and China as “a momentous step”.

Irish shares surged after Boris Johnson secured a resounding election victory in the UK, as banks, property, travel firms, and hoteliers tapped into the sharp climb in the value of sterling.

New figures showed Germany narrowly avoided recession but European shares slid nonetheless on fears that the US-China trade conflict was still inflicting a lot of damage to the world growth.

Irish shares fell sharply as investors took fright as British prime minister Boris Johnson said he would seek an election if MPs fail to back his new Brexit deal in the coming days.

Irish shares fell sharply as investors took fright as Boris Johnson said he would seek an election if MPs fail to back his new Brexit deal in the coming days.

Sterling held most its gains against the euro and the dollar yesterday even as analysts saw the dangers of UK prime minster’s Boris Johnson’s new Brexit deal becoming ensnared in the Commons.

The head of the business group that represents truckers has warned that final Brexit negotiations face another cliff edge next summer if any transition deal is not extended.

Since the UK voted over three years ago to leave the EU, sterling’s exchange rate has acted as a barometer of fears that the UK would crash out without striking any sort of transition deal.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe could tap hundreds of millions from surging tax receipts to fund giveaway measures in his budget next week — but much will still depend on the scale of potential health spending overruns for the rest of the year.

The euro slipped on the resignation of the Italian premier amid a confidence vote, as currency markets focussed on another confidence vote -- in UK leader Boris Johnson early next month.

Fears of a world recession came back to haunt global markets, prompting some investors to buy gold and safe but extremely low-yielding government bonds.

Shares in the big two Irish banks and a handful of property shares played catch-up with the global market slump to post falls, taking stock of the fading hopes of a deal that would avoid Britain crashing out of the EU at the end of October.

The shares of the two main Irish bank shares had one of their worst days since the financial crisis as lacklustre earnings and the looming Brexit threat hit hard.

The head of the ECB Mario Draghi came close to confirming that some interest rates are heading lower in September -- and a senior analyst says this will provide Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe with a ‘Draghi bounty’ and more ‘fiscal room’ in his autumn budget.

Sterling tumbled against the dollar and slid to a six-month low of under 90 pence against the euro as fears over a Halloween exit for Britain from the EU haunted investors.

Sterling fell sharply against both the euro and the dollar over the heightened scare that Britain will crash out of the EU at Halloween.

The chance of the ECB being forced into decisive action to cut interest rates increased significantly as market expectations for inflation “collapsed” to a new low, a leading economist has said.

Global shares and the price of oil slumped, as President Donald Trump shocked markets by opening a new front in his world trade wars by setting a tariff demand on Mexico.

Sterling slipped further and Irish shares fell sharply as fears of investors rose that the political turmoil in the UK will lead to Boris Johnson becoming leader, and Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal.

The "last gamble" of Theresa May to get a Brexit deal through the Commons sent sterling briefly soaring fears that this fourth attempt too will fail, weighed on the currency again.

Sterling tumbled as Theresa May set down a timetable for her departure and setting up a leadership contest that may elect a hard line Brexiteer and increase the risk of Britain crashing out of the EU.

The risk that a potential trade deal between the US and China will unexpectedly unravel into acrimony hit German, Irish, and other shares exposed to world trade.

The Revenue will start talking to truck drivers at Dublin and Rosslare ports from today about the potential huge delays and disruption to trade if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal.

Sterling surged almost 1% against the euro ahead of another series of votes in the Commons as investors bet that MPs were moving toward endorsing a soft version of Brexit.

Sterling edged higher against the euro and dollar in a sign that currency markets still bet that the risk of Britain crashing out of the EU is unlikely.

Hopes that UK Prime Minister Theresa May could clinch a last-minute deal with the EU boosted sterling against the euro, as markets continued to predict that any Brexit involving Britain crashing out at the end of the month was most unlikely.

Sterling fell against a resurgent dollar and London’s Ftse 100 was weighed down as jitters about Britain crashing out of the EU with no deal returned to trouble investors.

Sterling fell against the euro and the dollar yesterday as a key survey suggested the UK’s services industries, which includes its giant finance industry, is coming close to stagnating because of the uncertainty of Brexit.

The second breakthrough in just over a week in the Brexit talks process pushed sterling higher and weighed on shares in London that rely on a weak British currency.

A surge in sterling as EU and UK negotiators reached a breakthrough in the Brexit talks could be shortlived, analysts have warned, as many political obstacles to closing the deal lie ahead.

Sterling jumped, and currency-dependent British stocks fell yesterday, after the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier signalled an accommodative stance towards the UK on ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Analysts have hailed ECB head Mario Draghi as his handling of a cutback in euro crisis measures helped relieve European exporters, boosted European stock- markets, pushed down Irish bond yields, while reassuring there would be no early hike in interest rates.

Sterling fell to the lowest point in nearly a month as reports speculated that UK prime minister Theresa May could face a leadership rebellion from within her own party and new figures showed a slump in UK car sales.

The so-called “Trump trade” did little to drive global stocks higher as investors tried to assess what parts of the giant US economy would benefit from the tax cuts proposed by the president.

Ireland could attract fewer manufacturing investments in future years from US pharmaceutical giants, according to a leading analyst, as President Donald Trump unveiled a plan to cut the tax levied on US companies to 20%.

A number of Irish stocks felt the benefit as global markets rallied yesterday and investors weighed back in on the back of easing tensions between the US and North Korea.

US President Donald Trump’s warning to North Korea and Pyongyang’s threat of possible armed retaliation drove investors out of stocks and other risky assets and into textbook safe havens like gold and US debt paper.

Sterling will take a beating if markets have got their bets wrong on the outcome of the UK election, economists have predicted.

Irish exporters have been warned about further sharp currency fluctuations, should the EU-UK talks end in no trade deal and tough controls over workers.

The renewed slump in sterling is hurting key Irish businesses hard as the turmoil caused by the uncertainty of the UK’s new relationship with Europe will persist for a long time, analysts here have warned.