The index of Britain's biggest firms was down this morning as it wiped out much of the big gains it saw this week as several countries showed signs of easing lockdowns. The drop comes as BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg warned Boris Johnson may have a tough task in convincing Britons to leave their homes when he lifts strict measures.  She said the Prime Minister hinted in his speech on Thursday that ministers were worried about the prospect of people being too afraid to venture outside.

She also said she had heard from a Cabinet source that the administration was aware of parents’ concerns about schools reopening.

“I think in there is a hint actually of nothing to do with science, but something that Cabinet ministers are very worried about is that people might be really, really frightened to leave the house,” she said.

“Now, someone from the Cabinet told me about data in polling that suggested that about half of parents didn’t feel that it would be safe enough to send their kids back to school even if they could.

“And there is a real nerve in Government about how do you get people back on the tube after something like this?

“How do you encourage people to go to work?”

Mr Johnson will next week publish the Government’s lockdown exit strategy which will act as a “road map” for the months ahead.

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6.37pm update: FTSE 100 falls

The FTSE 100 closed 138.15 points lower at 5,763.06p at the end of trading on Friday.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: "Many European equity markets were closed today as it is May Day, but the FTSE 100 came under pressure.

"During the week, the British index reached its highest level since early March, so the rising trade tensions acted as a good excuse to dump stocks.

"There has been a decent recovery in European equities since mid-to-late March, but now traders are worried we could be in for another round of the US-China trade spat."

5.03pm update: Savings surge during lockdown

Households saved more than £13billion in March, a record surge as the coronavirus lockdown prevents people from spending money.

The rise in savings is more than three times the normal rate, which usually stands at 34billion each month.

This money would normally be spent in shops, restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues - which people are unable to do during the lockdown.

4pm update: US stocks slide in response to Trump's tariff threats

Wall Street's main indexes fell on Friday after President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on China over the coronavirus crisis.

The S&P 500 technology sector dropped by 1.5 percent in early trading, while the trade-sensitive Philadelphia Semiconductor index fell 4 percent.

Yesterday Trump said his trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the pandemic.

The threat reignited the trade war between the world's two largest economies, that has kept global financial markets on tenterhooks for nearly two years.

2.47pm update: Wall St slides at open amid Trump’s tariff threat

US stocks fell at open on Friday after President Donald Trump threatened to impose fresh tariffs on China.

Apple and Amazon became the latest companies to warn of more pain in the future.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 224.94 points, or 0.92 percent, at the open to 24,120.78.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 43.34 points, or 1.49 percent, at 2,869.09.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 208.26 points, or 2.34 percent, to 8,681.29 at the opening bell.

2.43pm update: Tiff Macklem announced as Bank of Canada's new governor

2.10pm update: Bank of America predicts European stocks to rise by 20 percent

The Bank’s analysts have forecast a 20 percent upside to the pan-European Stoxx 600 between now and August.

In a note to clients, the Bank of America’s equity strategists said equities across the continent should bounce back as PMI activity gauges recover.

They added: “A second wave of outbreaks would reduce the projected peak for the Stoxx 600 from 400 to 375: the main challenge to our positive view on the market is the risk that an easing of containment measures could lead to a second wave of outbreaks, forcing governments to impose renewed lockdowns.”

1.58pm update: Ireland's Aer Lingus seeks to cut workforce by 20 percent

Irish airline Aer Lingus has told unions it is seeking staff cuts of around 20 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic, a source close to the talks told Reuters.

Aer Lingus is part of International Airlines Group (IAG) which also owns British Airways.

The airline declined to comment, saying it was "continuing to communicate directly with our employees and engage with their representative bodies."

Cuts of 20% would represent around 800-900 staff, with management promising to offer a voluntary redundancy programme, the source said.

1.04pm update: Government 'stands ready' to help Ryanair employees

The Government is ready to help the 3,000 Ryanair staff set to lose their jobs. 

A spokesman for Boris Johnson said: "We recognise that this is a difficult time for employees and stand ready to help those impacted."

This morning the airline announced plans to slash thousands of jobs, mainly cabin crew and pilots. 

12.25pm update: COVID-19 general insurance losses seen higher than 9/11 claims

An insurance broker has estimated the general insurance losses across key classes in the US and the UK from coronavirus to be somewhere between $32 billion (£25.5 bn) and $80 billion (£63.8 bn).

The figures from Willis Towers Watson surpass claims made form the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A report by the broker showed early estimates for US and UK business interruption, contingency, Us Directors & Officers, US employment practices, liability, US general liability, US mortgage, trade credit and surety and US workers' compensation

11.00am update: Chinese yuan falls on threat of US tariffs

The Chinese yuan fell to a one-month low versus the dollar on Friday, marking its worst day since March 25.

The fall comes after Donald Trump on Thursday accused China of mishandling the COVID-19 outbreak and threatened to slap new tariffs on Beijing.

The Chinese yuan fell in the offshore market by 0.7 percent to 7.1350 versus the US currency, its lowest since April 2.

10.46am update: Spanish GDP pummelled by coronavirus pandemic

Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) will contract 9.2 percent in 2020, surpassing the fall during the country's Great Recession of 2008-2013, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said on Friday.

GDP is expected to recover in 2021 and expand 6.8 percent, she added.

The economy minister said she expected an "asymmetric V-shape recovery, with the deepest decrease in the second quarter and then a strong and gradual recovery in the second half of the year".

9.35am update: World stocks fall further

World stocks pulled back further on Friday on grim US economic data, mixed company results and Donald Trump's threat to impose new tariffs on China.

MSCI's index of global stocks fell 0.5 percent after a tumble late Thursday broke a six-day winning streak for the index.

In Asia, with many markets closed, the benchmark Nikkei index fell 2.8 percent, with declines led by chipmaking firms.

Australian shares fell 5 percent, their most in five weeks.

8.53am update: London stocks slide amid Trump tariff threats

The FTSE 100 was down 2.2 percent at 7.06am on Friday, wiping out much of the strong gains it had seen this week on signs of several countries rolling back lockdown measures.

The domestically focussed mid-cap index fell 1.3 percent, as US President Donald Trump said late on Thursday his hard-fought trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the pandemic.

The Trump administration is devising retaliatory measures for China over the outbreak.

British Airways operator IAG shed another 2.6 percent as details of its plans to cut staffing, including a quarter of its pilots, and weather the collapse in air travel under the coronavirus continued to seep out.

Overall trading volumes were thin as many markets elsewhere in Europe were closed for the May 1 public holiday.

8.49am update: French rail company SNCF expects €3 billion coronavirus revenue hit

France's state-owned SNCF railways company estimates it will lose at least €3 billion (£2.62 billion) in revenue as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

The predicted losses were reported this morning in Les Echos daily newspaper, citing unnamed sources.

8.12am update: Ryanair to cut 3,000 jobs

Ryanair plans to cut 3,000 jobs and talk to Boeing about delaying plane deliveries as it does not expect European air traffic to recover fully from the coronavirus crisis until 2022, the Irish airline said on Friday.

The majority of the job cuts would affect pilots and cabin crew, chief executive Michael O’Leary said.

The announcement comes two weeks after Ryanair said it could make bumper profits in 2021 and had no plans to defer jet orders.

But in an unscheduled update, the budget airline pushed back the start of a return to normal scheduling to July from June.

The company said it would only fly 50 percent of planned capacity in the three months to the end of September, a period which is usually its busiest season.

The airline said it was now reviewing growth plans and plane orders and was in talks with Boeing and aircraft lessors to cut the number of deliveries over the next 24 months.

Mr O'Leary said in the update for investors: "Ryanair now expects the recovery of passenger demand and pricing (to 2019 levels) will take at least two years, to until summer 2022 at the earliest.”