Finance

Global stocks are mixed as investors weigh COVID-19 deaths topping 500,000, and markets are hit with a ‘nervous calm’


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  • Global stocks were mixed on Monday, driven by rising concerns over worldwide Covid-19 deaths crossing half a million this weekend.
  • US stocks pointed to choppy trading as futures wavered between gains and losses in pre-market trading. Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of around 6.45 a.m. ET.
  • Investors have been inconsistent in their approach to a likelihood of a second-wave, “veering between outright distress, nervous calm and fingers-in-ears positivity, sort of on a whim,” a financial analyst said.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Global stocks were mixed on Monday as investors weighed the impact of global coronavirus deaths crossing the half-million mark over the weekend.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 hesitated between gains and losses before ticking up 0.2% as of around 6.45 a.m. ET.

Case counts around the world have surpassed 10 million, with around 1 million new cases per week, according to the World Health Organization.

Those figures are likely much higher in reality due to reporting discrepancies from nation to nation, according to Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx. 

Investor sentiment in the US was likely swayed by a reversal of recently announced reopening plans in the worst-hit states of Florida and Texas.

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The US accounts for around a quarter of both totals, Campbell noted, with the country regularly hitting record one-day case increases en route to 2.5 million known infections and over 125,000 deaths.

“Investors have been inconsistent in how they’ve approached the likelihood of a potential second wave, veering between outright distress, nervous calm and fingers-in-ears positivity, sort of on a whim,” Campbell said.

Internationally, virus infections continue to rise in tense environments.

Rabobank analysts tell us:

  • In the UK, a government scientific advisor said things nationally are on a “knife edge” with a spike in new infections expected by July.
  • In Germany, an internal quarantine has been imposed for domestic travellers in the state of Bavaria.
  • Brazil had its worst week yet with over 255,000 new cases.
  • The healthcare system in India’s capital, New Delhi, is on the brink of collapse.
  • Meanwhile, Israel faces a second-wave after its hasty decision to reopen schools.

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Here’s the market roundup as of  11.25 a.m in London (6.25 a.m. ET):

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