The coronavirus pandemic has wiped off billions in values of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) amid extreme volatility and mass sell-offs, according to new data.
Values of shares in Europe’s second largest stock exchange, the seventh biggest globally, plunged by £842bn to £3.08tn between December and April.
AksjeBloggen, which compiled the data from Statista, said these losses amount to the worst quarter since 1987.
The financial impact of Covid-19 followed the slowest year for fundraising activity on the LSE in more than a decade – following concerns over a slowing global economic environment hit by US-China trade tensions, weak Eurozone growth and prolonged Brexit uncertainty.
The April valuation marks a more than 30% drop in three years, with the figure standing at £4.58tn at the start of 2017, while the number of companies listed on the LSE has fallen from 2,262 to 2,020 in the same period.
AksjeBloggen said the doom has shown signs of a slight recovery. Although market cap dropped from £3.83tn in January to £3tn in March, it increased by £80bn in April.