Global stocks mixed as coronavirus cases rise in several countries

NEW YORK, USA – European and Asian bourses retreated on Monday, June 22, on higher coronavirus cases in several countries, but United States stocks bucked the trend, boosted by Apple and other technology companies.

After the past week’s broadly positive showing for stocks, traders had turned cautious on news of a jump in fresh virus cases across US states including California, Arizona, and Florida.

On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the rate of increases in the state was “unacceptable” as he promised a crackdown of bars and other places where crowds have gathered, the Texas Tribune reported.

Next door to Texas, Louisiana paused its reopening plans at “phase two” due to an uptick in cases.

China, Australia, Germany, and Japan are also battling new outbreaks, with some reintroducing containment measures.

Key European markets were down more than half a percent at the closing bell on the news of rising cases in parts of the US.

Wall Street spent part of its session in the red, before ultimately shrugging off the weakness as New York City moved to a new phase of reopening after suffering the worst COVID-19 crisis in the country earlier this spring.

“What is vital for the economy is whether governments reimpose wide-sweeping lockdowns. With the overall count low globally, that’s unlikely, whereas proximity or soft lockdowns like in Beijing” were more probable, said Stephen Innes at AxiCorp.

But he did say that the fresh infections were “providing a somber reality check, not only thwarting bullish ambitions, but investors are refocusing on the negative economic consequences that could linger for some time.”

The Nasdaq led the major indices, jumping 1.1% to a fresh record following new technology announcements from Apple.

The tech giant announced that it would build its own chips for its Mac computers. Chief executive Tim Cook said the move represents “a huge leap forward for the Mac,” which would get a more powerful and energy-efficient system that operates more like Apple’s mobile devices.

Among other companies, the value of Wirecard stock continued to plunge as what could be one of the biggest financial fraud cases in recent years continued to unfold.

The payments firm admitted 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) that auditors say are missing from its accounts likely “do not exist.” – Rappler.com