A second round of fresh 5-year highs for the Chinese stock market failed to produce the same boost it did on Monday, with the threat of returning lockdown measures in various spots around the globe casting doubt on Europe’s recent rally.
Melbourne has been placed under a new 6-week lockdown after a 191 case spike in new cases were confirmed in state of Victoria. Elsewhere South Africa’s total number of cases has passed 200,000, the highest figure in Africa.
Of course then there’s the US, the gold standard of coronavirus mismanagement. Between Friday and Sunday alone the country saw 200,000 fresh infections, with the number of cases in Florida alone doubling from 100,000 to 200,000 in less than a fortnight. All this before considering the impact the weekend’s 4th July celebrations will have on the infection rate.
There is, however, more opposition to lockdown in the US than many other counties – just look at the number of cases it took to put Melbourne back under strict measures, compared to what some American states are currently enduring without an immediate return to the kind of tough restrictions required to curb the virus’s growth.
The lockdown chatter caused a blanket red open for Europe, though losses were on the pessimistic, rather than panicked, end of the spectrum. The FTSE fell 1.1%, returning it to 6220, with the DAX down the same amount as it dipped below 12620. The CAC, meanwhile, slipped 0.8% to 5030.
The Dow Jones, which closed 460 points higher at the end of Monday’s trading, is facing a 220 point decline later today, one that would take it back under 26100.
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