It might’ve been the strongest quarter for the global stock markets in over a decade, but June is ending on a bit of a confused down note.
Up 600 points on Monday, the Dow Jones couldn’t repeat that trick at the open, instead sitting flat just under 25600. Yesterday, at least, it had a sky-high performance from Boeing (NYSE:BA) and a better than forecast pending home sales reading.
Today it is looking at a far worse than expected Chicago PMI – at 36.6 against the 45.0 estimated – and no sign of slowdown in regards to America’s covid-19 nightmare.
That means the Dow’s once strong June is in danger of becoming a complete bust. After just over a week the index had surged from 25225 to 27500; at its current levels, it will have only added 350 or so points. And that’s as long as it avoids a late downturn.
Yet zoom out and go back to the start of April, when it was trading below 21000, and the Dow’s performance captures the broader spirit of the quarter, one that saw investors desperate to force through a rally regardless of the realities of the pandemic.
It is important to put Tuesday’s headlines in that context. For it might be the best quarter in 11 years; but that’s only thanks to the pandemonium of March, and the arguable blindness of recent weeks.
The unenthusiastic US open wiped out any defences Europe had constructed. The DAX was back where it began the day, while the CAC found itself the wrong side of 4900 following a 0.9% decline.
With the UK’s Q1 GDP revised lower to -2.2%, and Leicester entering local lockdown, the FTSE was unable to shake its status as the session’s worst performer. A 1.5% drop – double what it saw at the day’s open – left the UK index back at 6150.
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