This week, the US Presidential elections kick off. While it is clear that the current President of the United States, Donald Trump, will run for re-election, the Democratic Party is starting the voting process to select the person who will become Trump’s opponent in November. The first polls are still inconclusive, but early favorite Joe Biden reportedly did not do as well as expected, with more votes going to Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigeig instead.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is having an emergency meeting today. OPEC is expected to agree on a further cut to support the recently slumping oil prices. Crude oil has been rapidly decreasing in price ever since the virus outbreak in China started, as demand for oil within China dropped, and almost all flights to and from the country were canceled.
Tension regarding the coronavirus epidemic in China persists on the market. Officially, there have been over 400 deaths registered already, including several outside of China, and more than 20,000 people are still infected with the virus. The disease has spread to at least 23 countries, though none other remains as severely affected as China at present.
The People’s Bank of China unveiled yet another plan to support the economy through a 500 billion Chinese yuan stimulus package. Though businesses and public transportation remain closed, the markets responded well to the central bank’s move, with Chinese stock indices rising 1.3% and more.
The Chinese stimulus package also helped foreign markets stabilize. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 and FTSE both marked increases by more than 1%. So did the Dow 30, Nasdaq 100, and S&P 500 futures in the United States.
