Weekly News Summary for August 21-27, 2020

Friday, Aug. 21, 2020: Europe’s Economic Recovery Weakens in August

Europe’s economic recovery stumbled in August after an initial bounce back, as renewed travel restrictions disrupted plans, preventing a worthwhile summer tourism season.

A preliminary reading of the euro zone’s composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a decline of 51.6 from 54.9, mainly driven by the services sector, while Germany’s PMI figure was better as it climbed to 53.0 from 51.0.

Monday, Aug. 24, 2020: Oil Gains as Storms Affect Gulf of Mexico Output

Oil prices recovered from the losses incurred last week, as investors keep a close eye on the threat from Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Marco which have affected about 58% of the production in the Gulf of Mexico.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures added 0.8% to $42.86 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude oil futures gained 0.7% to $45.25 per barrel.

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020: Dow Jones Undergoes its Biggest Shakeup since 2013

The S&P Dow Jones Indices announced plans of its biggest reshuffle in seven years on the components of Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), with the shakeup due to be effective before the market opens on August 31.

The S&P Dow Jones Indices stated that it would drop long-standing energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp., defense group Raytheon Technologies Corp., and drugmaker Pfizer Inc. from the benchmark index, replaced by Salesforce.com, Honeywell International Inc., and Amgen Inc.

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020: Salesforce Shares Up on Strong Q2 Earnings

Shares of US software firm Salesforce.com were up as much as 14% in extended trading after the company’s fiscal second-quarter earnings turned out better than what analysts expected, driven by mark-to-market accounting for its investments.

Salesforce reported earnings of $1.44 per share, while its revenue rose from $4.90 billion to $5.15 billion in the second quarter, as the firm gain an unrealized profit of $617 million in the quarter through its stake in fintech group nCino.

Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020: Asian Stocks Post Largest Daily Fall in Five Weeks

Asian stocks hit two-year highs on Thursday as global markets remained focused on the central banks’ continued release of liquidity, although tensions between China and the US tensions caused Asian investors to be more cautious.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1%, having reached its highest since August 2018 earlier, while the Nikkei fell 0.4% from levels not seen since mid-February and the KOSPI shed 0.8%, as growth in COVID-19 cases in South Korea ended the index’s four straight days of gains.