Today the stimulus drama in the United States continues. Yesterday was the deadline that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave Republicans to agree to the stimulus bill championed by Democrats. A compromise did not come but Pelosi seems determined not to take the bill off the table. Moreover, President Trump urged his party to accept the bill, even though it asks for more money than Republicans would like to spend on stimulus packages.
Thus, the hopes for a solution are still not completely stifled. US bonds are once again rising in value. Meanwhile, the US dollar is under pressure, weakening due to the hopes of a solution to the stimulus stalemate. The dollar index fell to 93.
Thanks to the weaker dollar, oil prices have slightly increased today. The Brent crude climbed to $42.66, while the WTI reached $41.09. These values may change later in the day as the EIA publishes its weekly oil reserves report.
However, stock indices are lower today, after rallying yesterday. This happened in spite of Netflix disappointing investors. The company’s earnings were lower than expected, though Netflix is still growing and its share price remains high.
Today many other American companies will be publishing their earnings reports. Arguably the most important name on the list is Tesla; the electric vehicle maker failed to impress in Q2 and was not admitted into the S&P 500. The company is expected to have grown since then.
As for the coronavirus pandemic, today the total number of cases worldwide has surpassed 41.1 million. The countries with the highest daily increases yesterday were the US (62,072), India (54,442), Brazil (23,690), the UK (21,331), and France (20,468). Argentina, Russia, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Italy also confirmed over 10,000 new Covid-19 infections yesterday.
The situation remains critical around the globe. It is quite possible to see a new round of lockdowns - in fact, we have already seen some in Ireland and parts of the UK. Expect risk appetite to remain low in the current conditions.
