Bank of England warns of worst contraction in centuries, as economic activity slumps - as it happened

Stock markets have gained ground on Thursday as investors look beyond the current certain recessions in major economies towards hopes of gradual recovery.

European stock markets, including the FTSE 100 gained some ground, as did Wall Street. However, US stocks have been dented by the FT’s report that a promising antiviral drug has not performed as expected in trials in China.

The relative stability on stock market indices belied a day of dire economic data. Here are some of the most noteworthy developments today:

• One of the Bank of England’s top policymakers, Jan Vlieghe, has warned that the UK could be suffering its worst economic shock in several hundred years.
• An additional 4.4 million Americans filed unemployment claims last week, as losses have wiped out all the job gains made since end of the last recession.
• UK purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data showed that Britain’s economy is shrinking at an unprecedented rate.
• It was a similar tale in the eurozone data.
• Oil prices rebounded further after this week’s historic falls, but still remained far below the start of the month.
  
• In the UK, the government plans to ban landlords from using “aggressive” debt collection tactics to keep the high street afloat.

You can continue to follow our live coronavirus coverage from around the world:

In the UK, key workers and their families can get tests from Friday, Hancock says

In the US, former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren says her brother has died of Covid-19

And in our global coverage, France could unveil lockdown exit plan on Tuesday

Thank you for reading, and join us next week for more live coverage of business, economics and financial markets. JJ