Weekly News Summary for April 3-9, 2020

Friday, April 3, 2020: Europe’s Services PMI Horror Show

Europe appears to be experiencing a recession more serious than in 2008/9, according to the latest survey data. The UK consultancy IHS Markit adjusted down its March PMIs across the region due to unexpected drops in services activity. This represents the bulk of activity in every European economy.

Services PMI of Italy declined to 17.4, from 52.1 in February. This is the lowest figure Markit has reported for any of its PMIs ever. The overall eurozone services PMI fell to 26.4 from 52.6.

Monday, April 6, 2020: Dow Up 1,600 Points on Signs of COVID-19 Slowdown

The US main indexes started the week on a positive note on Monday. Investors welcomed signs of a slowdown in the COVID-19 pandemic in New York and New Jersey.

The Dow gained 7.73%, or 1,627.46 points, while the S&P 500 rose 7.03% and the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 7.33%.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020: Gold Prices Register 8-year High

Gold prices reached an 8-year high on Tuesday, as money continued to flow into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bars, and coins on the possibility of an extended period of low or negative interest rates.

Gold futures hit a high of $1,742.20 per troy ounce. Meanwhile, premium over spot gold prices in London expanded nearly $50 per ounce. This is amid further reports of difficulty in obtaining enough physical gold to cover all the claims of US-listed ETFs.

Wednesday, April 8, 2020: Trump Looks to Partially Reopen the US Economy

US President Donald Trump talked up the probability of reopening parts of the US economy, as the spread of COVID-19 in the country showed mixed signs of decelerating, with Trump’s economic advisor Larry Kudlow stating earlier that parts of the economy might restart in four to eight weeks.

The number of US cases had grown twofold to 400,000 in the past week, although rose by only 8.1% on Tuesday, marking the country’s fifth straight daily decline.

Thursday, April 9, 2020: US Weekly Unemployment Claims in Focus

Investors’ focus is likely to turn to the US weekly unemployment claims and consumer confidence figures which are both due to be released later Thursday.

Economists expect this week’s data to reveal another 4 to 5 million workers in the US have filed for unemployment benefits in the previous week, bringing the overall count to 15 million, while the country might see a sharp decline in consumer sentiment index for April.