Coronavirus impact assessment: 16 March 2020
On 16 March, the UK government held its first emergency conference, updating the guidelines for social gatherings and travel while the coronavirus gathers momentum in Britain. The economic repercussions of the proposals are being felt hard by many sectors, especially hospitality. Meanwhile, the first clinical trial into a vaccine has started in the US on the same day as the Federal Reserve made another massive interest rate cut - a hopeful precaution against economic collapse. While most stocks continue to tumble, there are a few beneficiaries of the current misery, which we will run through here.
Starting with the positives… Healthcare in the spotlight At the end of 2019, the share price of clinical diagnostics group Novacyt (LON:NCYT), was sitting close to all-time lows as its future appeared in doubt. The launch of a coronavirus/COVID-19 test developed by its molecular diagnostics division, has changed its outlook considerably, attracting considerable interest in its shares. Public Health England has now ordered £1.0m of the tests, representing the single largest order the company has received and bringing total orders for the test to over £3.7m, equivalent to eight months of sales for the division under normal circumstances. In order…