Coronavirus
Business News &
Market Updates
Business News and Stock Market Updates
Keeping you up to date on the coronavirus and businesses and global stock markets are reacting to the ongoing pandemic.
Business and Market News Updates:
PWS Southport business news and market updates keeping you up to date on coronavirus news and how global stock markets are reacting to the ongoing pandemic.
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Friday 11th September 2020
Sky News Live
Thursday 10th September 2020
British mid-caps bounce ahead of emergency Brexit talks, Morrisons slips
The FTSE 100 index was down 0.2%.
After Wednesday’s stock market bounce European futures are flat on Thursday morning
Markets picked up some gains after the U.S. tech rout on Wednesday. Asia-Pacific markets are up, but European futures are flat on Thursday.
After a gain of +1.39% on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 is likely to open flat with futures indicating a small drop when the index begins at 8.00 am.
Hong Kong, mainland markets record ‘lukewarm’ gains amid caution over rebound in stocks
South China Morning Post – The stock markets in Hong Kong and mainland China rose on Thursday following gains in US stocks overnight. Sentiment has been buoyed by recent and upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) as well.
Asian stock markets gain following tech bounce, euro waits for ECB
SINGAPORE/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Asia’s stock markets snapped their longest losing streak since February on Thursday and rose following a bounce on Wall Street, though subdued trade in currency, commodity and bond markets suggested investors remain cautious about the outlook.
Japan’s Nikkei .N225 rose 0.5% and markets in Shanghai .SSEC and Hong Kong .HSI opened higher. But pressure returned to the oil price on worries about soft demand, a harbinger of weaker global growth.
Indonesian stocks dive 5% as capital city Jakarta plans to reinstate partial coronavirus lockdown
Brexit changes in Internal Market Bill will override international law, government reveals
Sky News – Ministers are planning to override parts of the Brexit deal with a bill that could be “inconsistent” with it.
Wednesday 9th September 2020
Stock futures bounce after the Nasdaq posts 10% correction in 3 days, Tesla and Apple rebound
CNBC – U.S. stock futures rebounded on Wednesday as investors snapped up technology shares that were pummeled in the previous three sessions.
FTSE 100 index futures get it wrong on Wednesday morning
Half an hour before London markets opened, futures had the FTSE 100 index dropping -1.00%. However, the index is pushing up to the 6,000 points mark forty minutes into the session at +1.00%.
Coronavirus: Oxford vaccine trial facing ‘challenge’ as volunteer suffers suspected serious adverse reaction
Expect the FTSE 100 index to fall at least another -1.00% at the opening on Wednesday
FTSE 100 futures are anticipating the index to open down -1.00% half an hour before the 8 o’clock start.
The index is reacting to the U.S. tech stock rout, falling oil prices, Brexit and the Coronavirus issues.
Boris Johnson presses ahead with new laws to ‘annul’ parts of Brexit deal
Hong Kong, China stocks fall as Wall Street tech rout spills over, trial of highly-anticipated vaccine is put on hold
South China Morning Post – Stock markets in Hong Kong and mainland China fell on Wednesday morning following an overnight rout in technology shares on Wall Street.
U.S. tech selloff hits equities, oil falls on demand worry
TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Asian shares fell on Wednesday and oil prices hit lows not seen since June after a rout in technology shares sank Wall Street for a third consecutive day and a major drugmaker delayed testing of a coronavirus vaccine.
Tuesday 8th September 2020
After an initially positive start European shares fall and U.S. futures negative
European markets open up on Tuesday morning but are heading for another fall as we enter the afternoon session with Brexit weighing heavily on stocks.
U.S. futures are also indicating more pain for the Dow Jones and S&P 500 with tech stocks likely to push shares lower.
Nasdaq futures drop 3% following tech’s worst rout since March, Tesla falls 15%
Don’t bet against the U.S. market, it’s likely going higher, BlackRock’s Rieder says
European futures looking positive on Tuesday morning
Current futures have European markets opening up on Tuesday morning after initially looking likely to fall after Asia-Pacific markets took a downturn in the morning sessions.
However, both the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the SSE Composite in China picked up in the afternoon session.
FTSE 100 futures are indicating the index will open up between 20-30 points half an hour before the market opens at 8.00 am.
Hong Kong and China stocks weighed down by Trump threat to scale back economic ties, fall at lunch break
South China Morning Post – Trump repeated on Monday a threat by his administration to decouple the US and Chinese economies, two of the world’s largest, and raised the possibility of halting business with Beijing altogether.
Global shares stabilise, try to shrug off U.S. tech rout scare
TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian shares and U.S. stock futures regained some footing on Tuesday following a small bounce in European markets as investors looked to whether high-flying U.S. tech shares could recover from their recent rout.
China’s blue-chip index .CSI300 tacked on 0.2% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng .HSI gained 0.6%, even as President Donald Trump on Monday ramped up his anti-Chinese rhetoric by
again raising the idea of de-coupling the U.S. and Chinese economies.
Elsewhere, Australian shares .AXJO rose for a second straight session, up 0.8% as optimism around the development of potential COVID-19 vaccines underpinned investor sentiment,
with miners and financials leading the charge.
Asia-Pacific stocks rise; Japan’s second-quarter GDP revised lower
CNBC – SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia Pacific were higher in Tuesday afternoon trade, as Japan released revised gross domestic product figures for the second quarter.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.8% in afternoon trade while the Topix index gained 0.69%.
Coronavirus: EasyJet cuts capacity on weaker passenger confidence
Monday 7th September 2020
Economists stick to Brexit forecasts despite no-deal rhetoric
FTSE 100 ends the day up 2.39% on Monday
The FTSE 100 in London finished the day up +2.39% ending on 5,937 points, making up most of the previous week’s losses.
Brexit: Boris Johnson planning to override key parts of EU withdrawal agreement – report
How will the FTSE 100 start the week?
The FTSE 100 in London fell over -2.50% last week with the index at 5,799 points the lowest level since the end of April 2020.
Current futures have the index potentially starting the week up 30 points, but the current market sentiment likely to remain it’s hard to anticipate how the index will react.
Hong Kong, mainland marginally lower amid improved China trade data, tech declines led by SMIC
China says August exports beat expectations, jumping 9.5% from a year ago
Meanwhile, China’s dollar-denominated imports in August fell 2.1% from a year ago.
Asian shares on fragile footing amid elevated valuations, oil skids
Chinese stocks started lower while shares of Hong Kong-listed Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) plunged to the lowest since June 16 on fears the firm could be
added to a U.S. trade blacklist. China’s blue-chip index slipped 0.3%.
Friday 4th September 2020
Global markets begin to rebound from mammoth tech sell-off — what now?
Another day of volatility expected on global stock markets
After Thursday’s tech stock rout global stock markets continue to be under pressure with Asia-Pacific markets all trading down on Friday.
Current FTSE 100 futures have the index opening down another 40 points at 8.00 am potentially sending the index under 5,800 points and a level not seen since May 2020.
Eat Out To Help Out: More than 100 million meals claimed for in scheme, says chancellor
Indexes retreat in Hong Kong, China as rout of ‘overvalued’ technology stocks on Wall Street spills over to Asian markets
South China Morning Post – Stock indexes in Hong Kong and China plunged, as the overnight tumble among technology stocks on Wall Street spilled over to Asian trading, raising concern that the recent run-up in the global equity markets may have been overdone.
U.S. job growth seen slowing in August, unemployment rate falling below 10%
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job growth likely slowed further in August as financial assistance from the government ran out, threatening the economy’s recovery from the COVID19 recession.
Thursday 3rd September 2020
FTSE 100 plunges after nearing 6,000 points market
The FTSE 100 index was on course to have another positive day and was trading near the 6,000 points mark early in the afternoon session.
However, a tech sell-off in the U.S. has seen the index down to 5,850 points before the close at 4.30 pm.
Stock market sell-off accelerates, with Dow plunging 800 points as Apple drags tech lower
Coronavirus: Costa to axe 1,650 jobs as it struggles to recover after lockdown
The company said it planned to axe the role of assistant store manager across its UK business.
British stocks rise on fresh stimulus hopes, Chinese data
After Wednesday’s gains, what’s in store for the FTSE 100 on Thursday
Futures: After losses on Tuesday and a +1.35% gain on Wednesday current futures are indicating the FTSE 100 index will open flat on Thursday morning.
U.S. markets continued on the upward trend on Wednesday and initially pushed Asia-Pacific markets up on Thursday morning. However, both the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the SSE Composite index in China are trading down in the afternoon session.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan is up +0.90%, but it may be another day of losses in Europe due to continued U.S./China relations.
Stock indexes dip in Hong Kong, China as rising US-China tension weighs on travel rebound and tentative economic growth
South China Morning Post – Hong Kong and China stocks slipped before the lunch break, as investors weighed rising US-China tensions against a rebound in the mainland’s demand for domestic travel and robust economic data.
Asian shares firm on U.S. stimulus hopes, upbeat China data
Coronavirus: 1,200 jobs at risk as Heathrow talks with unions stall
Wednesday 2nd September 2020
Tech stocks push S&P 500, Nasdaq to record highs at open
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 91.13 points, or 0.32%, at the open to 28,736.79.
House prices bounce back to new all-time high, says Nationwide
British stocks gain on signs of economic recovery, Rolls Royce jumps
FTSE 100 index likely to gain on Wednesday after fall on Tuesday
Futures: Current market futures are indicating the FTSE 100 index in London will open up approximately 40 points at 8.00 am.
After losing over 100 points on Tuesday and sitting at a level last seen in early May 2020, the index continues to lag other major stock markets.
Government denies raid on foreign aid budget to help plug coronavirus black hole
Spooked by coronavirus vaccine delays, Hong Kong and China markets ignore US economic recovery data, decline
South China Morning Post – Hong Kong and China stocks fell before lunch on Wednesday, as investors weighed a delay in the development of a vaccine against signs of economic recovery in the United States and mainland China.
Australia records worst economic slump as pandemic ends golden run
Tuesday 1st September 2020
A miserable day for the FTSE 100 index
The FTSE 100 in London dropped -1.80% on Tuesday after the Bank Holiday break. With most other major markets enjoying a positive the index was pushed down by Rolls Royce Holdings falling -12.00% and BA owner INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP falling -7.12%
Apple overtakes value of entire FTSE 100
S&P 500, Nasdaq set to rise at open as focus turns to factory surveys
MPs go back to work, as the prime minister urges the rest of the UK to do the same
Easyjet and Intl Consolidated Air push FTSE 100 lower
In early trading, British Airways (IAG) and EasyJet both fall sharply on Tuesday morning with IAG down over -7.00% and Easyjet down -4.00% pushing the index near to 5,900 points.
FTSE 100 likely to fall after Bank Holiday closure
Futures: The FTSE 100 is likely to open slightly down on Tuesday morning after London markets were closed for the Bank Holiday weekend.
Hong Kong, mainland stocks choppy in early trading, as investors weigh dip in US markets, Covid-19 surge against upbeat China economic data
South China Morning Post – The Hong Kong and mainland China stock markets see-sawed in early trading on Tuesday, as investors weighed a dip in US markets and an uptick in coronavirus cases globally against signs of economic recovery in China.
Asian stocks edge up after strong China manufacturing survey
SYDNEY/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Asian stocks edged higher on Tuesday after strong readings on China’s vast manufacturing sector offset the weak lead from a softer Wall Street session.