China contracts…. The Chinese economy shrinks for the first time in nearly 30 years with Q1 GDP falling by 6.8 per cent as the Coronavirus outbreak weighs heavily on consumer spending and production. Retail sales in the mainland fall more than 15 per cent in March. U.S. futures, however, rise on the back of a positive report from a key drug trial, as Gilead Science says Covid-19 patients are recovering quickly after being treated with its Remdesivir medicine. President Trump publishes a three-point plan for re-opening the U.S., also pushing equities higher but U.S. bond yields fall for a third session running on the back of rising jobless claims. Luxury and cosmetics giants LVMH and L’Oréal are upbeat on a recovery in China despite both suffering falling sales amid global pandemic lockdowns in the first quarter. And car registrations in the EU plunge more than 50 per cent in March, with Italy the hardest-hit country.

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