The stock market fluctuations continue to rally. OPEC+ meeting last Thursday is the main reason why the previously low crude oil prices jumped on Wednesday.
A promising improvement was also observed in the three major American indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index (+3.4%) and the Nasdaq composite (+2.6%).
Within those indices, the major companies Apple, Amazon and Microsoft experienced a rise in their share prices of 2.6%, 1.6% and 1% respectively. Although this was a minor increase, the American online retailer, Amazon, earned back its $1 trillion valuation.
Honorable mentions:
- Nvidia stocks (+3.1%)
- DXCM stocks (+2.9%)
Despite the overall positive results, it is still too early to determine whether the current stock market situation is simply a short-lived phenomenon or the bullish market sentiment will take another dive. The COVID-19 virus – the primary cause of the market slowdown – is still spreading across the world. In case the market starts showing stable signs of recovery, all major indexes would enter a power trend, breaking out the growth stock.
Coronavirus Today
The confirmed cases of COVID-19-infected people around the world are now above 1,51 million, with the total number of deaths reaching over 88,000.
North America
With estimations that the peak of the disease has yet to come, over 431,000 people have been infected, with more than 14,700 people dying in North America alone. While the virus continues to burden the economy, a whopping 9.9+ million US workers have filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week.
Canada has reported more than 19,000 coronavirus cases and 400+ deaths.
Europe
Italy and Spain are the worst-affected victims of the virus. The strict lockdown seems to be yielding results, despite both countries failure to flatten the curve.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was also COVID-19 positive, was admitted to the ICU earlier this week. The poor response from the British public to the measures adopted – admittedly late by the government – has resulted in an overall 60,000+ confirmed cases across the country.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, was able to manage the spread of coronavirus, extending the nationwide “non-working week” until April 30 and enforcing new legislation that imposes punishments for people breaking quarantine rules, including up to seven years in prison.
Country leaders across the globe urge people to stay home, avoid close contact with people outside their household and practice good hygiene and take seriously sanitary precautions.
