Experts call for automated breaks in UK stockmarket as FTSE plunges 10% in one day

Covid-19 fears push index to lowest figures since 1987 crash

Multi-asset managers, macro strategists and fund buyers have all called for an automated break to be placed on the UK's FTSE 100 index, following its 10.9% freefall on the day of going to press (12 March) – its second-worst day in history and a bigger fall than any given day during the throes of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

Global stockmarkets have plummeted over recent weeks as fears surrounding the coronavirus outbreak have intensified. On Tuesday 11 March, the World Health Organisation officially labelled the virus a pandemic. Over the course of the following day, the US's S&P 500 index plummeted more than 7% within minutes of trading, triggering an automated circuit-breaker for the second time this week. Across the Atlantic, the UK's blue-chip index's 10% fall means it has plummeted more than 30% below its 52-week high, well into the 20% loss territory of a technical bear market. Why coronaviru...