France and Germany could be heading for a national lockdown
Wall Street stocks closed mixed on Tuesday amid renewed concerns around surging coronavirus cases. Downbeat consumer data and mixed earnings added to the downside pressure in the markets. The Conference Board consumer confidence index declined to 100.9 in October, down from 101.3 in September while the expectations index decreased from 102.9 in September to 98.4 this month.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Congress will approve a pandemic rescue package for the US economy after the November 3 election. The statement was also negative for investor sentiment. As a result, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%.
Asian stock markets were mostly higher on Wednesday despite lingering concerns over rising coronavirus cases and new restrictions on businesses and other activities to help curb surging infections that could choke off improvements seen since the summer. Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished 0.28% lower while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.11, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.45%, and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.61%.
In Europe, European markets fell sharply on Wednesday amid the renewed risk-off tone as the rapid spread of the coronavirus continues across the continent. The pan-European Stoxx 600 dipped 1.4% at the start of the session amid reports that France and Germany could be heading for a national lockdown in an effort to contain the resurgent outbreak.
As for currencies, the greenback is mostly higher amid risk aversion. EURUSD dipped to more than one-week highs around 1.1750 after a break below the 20-DMA that turned into resistance again. The common currency could stay on the defensive in the near term as traders are preparing for the ECB monetary policy meeting due on Thursday. If the pressure intensifies any time soon, the pair could threaten the 1.1730 next intermediate support.
