n London, the FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.71pc, its gains slightly underperforming European markets more widely amid slight pressure from a rising pound. Sterling eked out slight gains during the day – after dropping to its lowest level since November shortly after City traders reached their desks, it pulled back a little during the session, but remains on a sustained downwards trajectory. Today"s top stories: European shares touch new record highs before pulling back slightly UK economy was stagnant in fourth quarter of 2019 TUI shares surge as it hails best-ever month Ocado takes hit from warehouse fire Watchdog demands answers over NMC Health shareholder chaos US stocks shrug off coronavirus worries to finish at fresh records Jeremy Warner: Tories borrow Labour ideas with problematic plans for a mansion tax Market wrap: Germany"s top stock index closed at a record high on Tuesday, with US indices also touching their highest-ever levels as investors shrugged off the spread of China’s deadline COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The DAX index closed at 13,650.88, having touched intraday highs of 13,668.43 earlier in the session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both opened at record highs. “Equity exceptionalism lives on,” said Stuart Kaiser, a macro strategist at Swiss investment bank UBS, adding: “investors seem comfortable that worst case coronavirus outcomes are less likely.”