- The major U.S. stock index, the S&P 500, yesterday traded at a new all-time high, but barely exceeded the previous day’s high. The Index is now up by 56% from its March low, and is currently trading off-hours above 3440. The U.S. stock market has never fallen and recovered so far, so quickly, as it has in 2020. New all-time highs tend to represent good buying opportunities in stocks.
- The NASDAQ 100 technology index has been making new record highs since June, and is up by 73% from its March low.
- The U.S. Dollar has stabilized after selling off in line with the long-term bearish trend established over recent weeks following last month’s “death cross” in the USD Index.
- Precious metals, especially Silver, look weak.
- WTI Crude Oil is trading very near a 5-month high as hurricane Laura looks set to make landfall right in the area of three major oil refineries on the U.S. gulf coast. Some analysts are forecasting up to $18 billion of damage is likely to result if, as expected, the hurricane hits at category 3.
- The Forex market is becoming less active, as typically happens in August. The Japanese Yen looks relatively weak but most currencies are stable.
- Coronavirus global death tolls are showing signs of starting to fall, with deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean at 45% of the global daily total, well exceeding those in both the U.S.A. (17%) and Europe (approx. 5%) which shows that the epicenter of the pandemic is well established in Latin America. Deaths in the U.S.A. have stabilized over the past three weeks, and the number of new cases reported daily has fallen quite strongly.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases stand at over 23.8 million with an average case fatality rate of 3.44%. The number of daily new cases has still not exceeded the all-time high made on 31st July. Global mortality over recent weeks is lower than it was during the first peak in April.
- Brazil, the U.S.A., and India are the countries with the highest numbers of new daily coronavirus deaths, with each currently reporting more than 1,000 casualties daily.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Albania, Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belize, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Kosovo, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, North Macedonia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sudan, Switzerland, Trinidad, Tunisia, U.A.E., and the Ukraine.