Wall Street tumbled on Friday as investors were worried about President Donald Trump’s health condition after he announced that he had been tested positive on the new coronavirus. Nevertheless, the markets are bouncing back on Monday morning on the news that Trump feels much better and might even be discharged from hospital later today.
Nasdaq futures have gained almost 1% as of now. On Friday, the tech-oriented index lost over 2.2%. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 futures are up 0.67%, and the Dow futures have added 0.75%.
At the end of last week, besides the uncertainty around Trump, investor mood was hurt by a disappointing nonfarm payrolls report, which suggested the US economic recovery might be losing pace.
The Labor Department said that nonfarm payrolls rose 661,000 last month, after increasing by 1.489 million in August. Analysts expected on average an increase by 850,000 in September. There are almost four million American who have lost their job permanently.
In Asia, stocks open higher on the news that Trump might be released from the hospital today. The president is treated at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with his wife, Melania.
Markets in China are closed in observance of the National Day.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 is up 1.18%. Japan’s services sector activity contracted for the eighth consecutive month in September, but the pace of decline slowed, suggesting that demand is stabilizing. The Jibun Bank Japan services purchasing managers index (PMI) increased to 46.9 from 45.0 in August, exceeding the reading from the preliminary data in September, which pointed to a modest increase to 45.6.
In Australia, the ASX 200 has surged 2.60% over the news that the government would allocate additional funds in wage subsidies to support the labor market. Investors are waiting for the Reserve Bank of Australia to meet tomorrow. The central bank is widely expected to maintain the interest rates unchanged at 0.25%. Earlier today, National Australia Bank said that its index of business conditions rose from -6 in August to 0 in September, a level not seen since the start of the pandemic that led to a national lockdown.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has gained 1.49%. Still, medical experts warn that the financial hub might experience a fourth wave of coronavirus infections “very soon”, which could be the most severe one.
South Korea’s KOSPI is up 1.46%, and India’s Nifty 50 has gained 1.17%.
European stocks will also open higher, with DAX, FTSE, and CAC futures securing gains as of now.
Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases globally has exceeded the 35 million mark.
In the commodity market, oil prices have surged over 2% in early trading on Monday on optimism around Trump’s health, after his doctors delivered positive comments and suggested he might be released from the hospital as early as today. WTI is up 2.43% to $37.97, and Brent has increased by 2.19% to $40.13. On Friday, both crude brands lost over 4% amid uncertainty caused by Trump’s positive testing just about one month ahead of the presidential election. On a side note, Democrat candidate Joe Biden leads the polls by more than 10% over Trump.
The same optimism surrounding Trump is putting pressure on gold prices. The metal is currently down 0.53% to $1,897, after the best weekly performance since early August.
In FX, the US dollar has recovered slightly after Trump’s tweet, but the USD Index is still down 0.06% to 93.843. EUR/USD is up 0.09% to 1.1728, though the pair is moving sideways on larger timeframes.
The sterling moves in tandem with the greenback. The British currency is under increased pressure as the deadline to secure a deal with the EU is expiring next week, and the two sides still cannot reach consensus.
