Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund run by billionaire Bill Ackman, has cashed in $2.6bn from hedges on plunging debt markets affected by coronavirus fears.

Ackman, who last week urged US president Donald Trump to take tougher action to contain the virus’s spread, said his fund’s purchases of credit protection on investment-grade and high-yield bond indices had “increased substantially in value” since they were put in place at the start of the month.