Plus500 buoyed by trading frenzy amid coronavirus fears

Online trading platform Plus500 said recent volatility in the markets driven by coronavirus fears has helped to drive strong figures for the first quarter of 2020.

Shares in the firm jumped after it said the company has recently seen heightened trading volumes across global financial markets.

It said it has seen a “significant increase” in customer activity, and trading in the current quarter is “substantially ahead” of the last quarter of 2019.

Plus500 said it is currently “too early” to say the extent of the impact the strong recent performance will have on its outlook for 2020.

High volatility in the market means this improvement “may not persist”, it said.

The company also added that the impact of Australian regulatory changes are yet to be quantified, after the country’s corporate regulator said it was considering heavy restrictions on Contracts for Difference (CFD) investments, which are offered by Plus 500.

Plus500 will update investors on its exact figures for the first quarter in April.

Coronavirus fears drove the FTSE 100 to its lowest figure since 2016 in what is on track to be the worst week for the index of leading British firms since the financial crisis in 2008.

Shares in the company increased by 7.3% to 936.2p in early trading on Friday.