After falling bellow 27,000 points on Wednesday, the Dow Jones followed the FTSE in making notable losses during Thursday trading. This followed a series of bleak Coronavirus updates and the painful Fed and OECD projections double-whammy.
During the Thursday session, the US market had to contend with the news that an additional 1.542 million Americans had filed for unemployment during the previous week. While this was both better than predicted and the lowest number since mid-March, it takes the total number of claims for the last three months to around 44 million – which completely dispels the glimmer of hope offered by non-farm gains last Friday.
In addition, the Dow is also having to take note of the possibility of a Coronavirus second peak, as US cases cross the two million mark. Leading the way in hospitalisations is Texas – little surprise, perhaps, given the resistance to lockdown measures.
With the grey outlook of Wednesday’s economic projections, alongside a dour employment and second wave situation, the Dow Jones dropped 1,862 points during trading. This took it down to 25,128 points, only days after hitting its 15-week high of 27,600.
Speaking on the reaction of Eurozone equities, Spreadex Financial Analyst Connor Campbell commented,
“With the US markets freaking out, the already hefty European losses levelled up. The DAX dropped 3.6% to hit 12100, with the CAC plunging a staggering 4% to just above 4850.”
“The FTSE, meanwhile, sank 200 points to 6125 – and it likely would’ve been even worse if the pound wasn’t also down 0.8% against dollar and euro alike. Sterling has hit the brakes on its recent rally, the currency bowing under the pressure of no-deal Brexit speculation.”
