Investors will be focusing on European stocks today, amid the latest coronavirus developments
Context: European stocks closed slightly higher on Monday after a volatile session of trading. The latest coronavirus data showed a further slowing down in the spread of the disease.
Details: Global growth of new coronavirus cases slowed to 2.3%, while new-case growth in the US also slowed to 3.3%, Deutsche Bank said in a note on Monday.
The slow reopening of the European economy continued, with Germany allowing small shops to open their shutters. The European Council is likely to announce a recovery fund this week. While the US government has made sweeping efforts to deal with the consequences of the pandemic, its fund for small businesses now needs replenishing. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she expects lawmakers to announce a deal shortly for increasing the lending fund to help small businesses weather the coronavirus shutdowns.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index cut back earlier losses to close higher by 0.67% on Monday. The healthcare sector was the top performer in yesterday’s trading session, while auto shares declined 1%. The FTSE 100 gained 0.45%, while German 30 index surged 0.47%.
Shares of Philips climbed more than 6% after the company reported its first-quarter results and announced plans to pay dividends in shares. Vivendi’s stock gained by more than 4% after the company reported a rise in its revenue for the first quarter.
The Eurozone reported an increase in its trade surplus increased to €23 billion in February, versus a surplus of €18.5 billion in the same month last year.
What to watch: Investors will be hoping for a further slowdown in daily coronavirus numbers. The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Italy has surpassed 181,220 with around 24,110 deaths. Spain has so far confirmed more than 200,210 cases with 20,850 fatalities. France has also confirmed more than 156,480 coronavirus cases as per the latest data.
Markets await the ZEW Economic Sentiment index from the Eurozone, along with some reports from countries in the region. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for the Eurozone had dipped by 59.9 points to a reading of -49.5 in March.
Other Markets: US indices closed lower on Monday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 down by 2.44%, 1.79% and 1.03%, respectively