<p>The pound briefly retreated Thursday after UK finance minister Sajid Javid sensationally quit Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, dealers said.</p>.<p>In stocks trading, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 1.4 percent, mirroring sharp losses across Europe, on resurfacing fears over the global economic impact of China's deadly virus outbreak.</p>.<p>Javid's resignation meanwhile came two weeks after Brexit and a month before he had been due to deliver his first annual budget on behalf of Johnson's Conservative administration.</p>.<p>Johnson appointed senior Treasury official Rishi Sunak to succeed Javid as chancellor of the exchequer.</p>.<p>"Volatility has been injected into the markets on the back of the news that Sajid Javid, the chancellor, has resigned," CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden told AFP.</p>.<p>"The news caught traders by surprise. Sterling has the biggest reaction to the news -- it initially sold-off, but it since recovered all the lost ground and is now back above the pre-announcement level."</p>.<p>British news agency the Press Association quoted a source close to Javid as saying he resigned after refusing to carry out Johnson's demand that the chancellor sack his entire team of aides.</p>.<p>Global stock markets meanwhile slid Thursday after a dramatic spike in the number of coronavirus deaths and cases in mainland China, with traders concerned about the economic impact.</p>.<p>"Stock markets have moved into retreat... on coronavirus headlines," noted IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.</p>.<p>Chinese authorities have changed the way they count infections from coronavirus -- officially named COVID-19 -- and the latest reports propelled the nationwide death toll to 1,355 and the infection count to nearly 60,000.</p>.<p>The new virus numbers dampened the positive cue from Wall Street overnight, where the three main indexes all set fresh records.</p>.<p>China has been praised by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its transparent handling of the outbreak.</p>.<p>There is, however, still scepticism among the global public, with suggestions that Beijing may be concealing the scale of the problem the way it did during the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic.</p>.<p>Tokyo stocks slid 0.1 percent, Hong Kong lost 0.3 percent, and Shanghai lost 0.7 percent.</p>.<p>The falls were deeper in Europe, where London fell also on disappointing corporate news from energy company Centrica and banking giant Barclays.</p>.<p>Centrica, owner of domestic electricity and gas provider British Gas, saw its shares tank 17 percent to 70.28 pence after posting a pre-tax annual loss and sliding revenues.</p>.<p>Sentiment was rocked also as Barclays said chief executive Jes Staley was facing a UK regulatory probe over his historical links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.</p>.<p>Barclays' share price shed 2.4 percent to stand at 174.98 pence despite the British bank's board throwing its support fully behind Staley.</p>.<p>Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3027 from $1.2960 at 2200 GMT</p>.<p>Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.35 pence from 83.90 pence</p>.<p>Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0855 from $1.0874</p>.<p>Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.72 from 110.09</p>.<p>London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.4 percent at 7,425.61 points</p>.<p>Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.9 percent at 13,623.14</p>.<p>Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 6,043.91</p>.<p>EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,809.12</p>.<p>Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,827.73 (close)</p>.<p>Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 27,730.00 (close)</p>.<p>Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 2,906.07 (close)</p>.<p>New York - Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 29,551.42 (close)</p>.<p>Brent Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $55.36 per barrel</p>.<p>West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $50.93 per barrel</p>
<p>The pound briefly retreated Thursday after UK finance minister Sajid Javid sensationally quit Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, dealers said.</p>.<p>In stocks trading, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 1.4 percent, mirroring sharp losses across Europe, on resurfacing fears over the global economic impact of China's deadly virus outbreak.</p>.<p>Javid's resignation meanwhile came two weeks after Brexit and a month before he had been due to deliver his first annual budget on behalf of Johnson's Conservative administration.</p>.<p>Johnson appointed senior Treasury official Rishi Sunak to succeed Javid as chancellor of the exchequer.</p>.<p>"Volatility has been injected into the markets on the back of the news that Sajid Javid, the chancellor, has resigned," CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden told AFP.</p>.<p>"The news caught traders by surprise. Sterling has the biggest reaction to the news -- it initially sold-off, but it since recovered all the lost ground and is now back above the pre-announcement level."</p>.<p>British news agency the Press Association quoted a source close to Javid as saying he resigned after refusing to carry out Johnson's demand that the chancellor sack his entire team of aides.</p>.<p>Global stock markets meanwhile slid Thursday after a dramatic spike in the number of coronavirus deaths and cases in mainland China, with traders concerned about the economic impact.</p>.<p>"Stock markets have moved into retreat... on coronavirus headlines," noted IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.</p>.<p>Chinese authorities have changed the way they count infections from coronavirus -- officially named COVID-19 -- and the latest reports propelled the nationwide death toll to 1,355 and the infection count to nearly 60,000.</p>.<p>The new virus numbers dampened the positive cue from Wall Street overnight, where the three main indexes all set fresh records.</p>.<p>China has been praised by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its transparent handling of the outbreak.</p>.<p>There is, however, still scepticism among the global public, with suggestions that Beijing may be concealing the scale of the problem the way it did during the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic.</p>.<p>Tokyo stocks slid 0.1 percent, Hong Kong lost 0.3 percent, and Shanghai lost 0.7 percent.</p>.<p>The falls were deeper in Europe, where London fell also on disappointing corporate news from energy company Centrica and banking giant Barclays.</p>.<p>Centrica, owner of domestic electricity and gas provider British Gas, saw its shares tank 17 percent to 70.28 pence after posting a pre-tax annual loss and sliding revenues.</p>.<p>Sentiment was rocked also as Barclays said chief executive Jes Staley was facing a UK regulatory probe over his historical links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.</p>.<p>Barclays' share price shed 2.4 percent to stand at 174.98 pence despite the British bank's board throwing its support fully behind Staley.</p>.<p>Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3027 from $1.2960 at 2200 GMT</p>.<p>Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.35 pence from 83.90 pence</p>.<p>Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0855 from $1.0874</p>.<p>Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.72 from 110.09</p>.<p>London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.4 percent at 7,425.61 points</p>.<p>Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.9 percent at 13,623.14</p>.<p>Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 6,043.91</p>.<p>EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,809.12</p>.<p>Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,827.73 (close)</p>.<p>Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 27,730.00 (close)</p>.<p>Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 2,906.07 (close)</p>.<p>New York - Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 29,551.42 (close)</p>.<p>Brent Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $55.36 per barrel</p>.<p>West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $50.93 per barrel</p>