Global stocks cautiously rebound as Britain tightens rules on virus

Global stocks staged a partial recovery on Tuesday, September 22, following a rout in the prior session as Britain announced fresh rules to contain the coronavirus and the United States officially passed 200,000 deaths from the virus.

After 3 straight days in the red, Wall Street rose, even as the US death toll from the coronavirus hit the grim 200,000 benchmark and Washington politicians remained far apart on another stimulus package.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the economy “was in the midst of the fastest economic recovery from any crisis in the US,” but acknowledged that some sectors such as restaurants and tourism “require additional relief.”

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the US economy may need more support, noting the stimulus checks and expanded unemployment payments moderated the economic hit from the coronavirus.

Yet analysts are becoming more skeptical that Washington will be able to produce a compromise bill to support the economy as partisan hostilities ramp up ahead of the US presidential election.

Among the major US indices, the Nasdaq was the big winner, jumping 1.7%. Large tech companies such as Apple and Google parent Alphabet, which have done well during the pandemic, posted strong gains again.

“The fact that the major indices managed to bounce back in a synchronized fashion is a plus, but bulls should remain cautious here,” said Gorilla Trades strategist Ken Berman, adding that “price action wasn’t convincing outside of the tech sector.”

Earlier, European equities closed with mixed results amid worries over a coronavirus second wave, while Asian stock markets extended the previous day’s losses with sentiment jarred by new containment measures.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced fresh steps to try to stop a coronavirus surge in England.

New rules to come into force on Thursday, September 24, will see English pubs and other hospitality venues close at 9 pm GMT (10 pm local time).

Johnson also called a halt to the planned phased return of fans to live sporting events in England from October 1, despite huge losses and fears some clubs could go under.

“To help contain the virus, office workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter,” the government said, despite fears for the wider economy as many city centers turn into ghost towns.

The raging pandemic shows few signs of slowing – more than 31.2 million infections have been detected worldwide, with 964,000 deaths – and nations are scrambling to contain new outbreaks.

Key figures around 9:20 pm GMT

• New York – Dow Jones: UP 0.5% at 27,288.18 (close)
• New York – S&P 500: UP 1.1% at 3,315.57 (close)
• New York – Nasdaq: UP 1.7% at 10.963.64 (close)
• London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4% at 5,829.46 (close) 
• Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.4% at 12,594.39 (close) 
• Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4% at 4,772.84 (close)
• EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1% at 3,164.13 (close)
• Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 1% at 23,716.85 (close)
• Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.3% at 3,274.30 (close)
• Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
• Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1707 from $1.1771 at 9 pm GMT 
• Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2729 from $1.2817 
• Euro/pound: UP at 91.96 pence from 91.84 pence
• Dollar/yen: UP at 104.92 yen from 104.65 yen 
• West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7% at $39.60 per barrel
• Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.7% at $41.72 per barrel

– Rappler.com