Trump’s Recovery Boosts Market Sentiment

Stock markets rose this morning on news that President Donald Trump - diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday, is likely to return to be discharged from hospital and return to the White House later in the day. 

News of a quicker-than-anticipated recovery have given S&P 500 futures a 0.82% boost in Asian trading, while Nasdaq saw a 1.11% gain, respectively. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.63%, and Japan’s Nikkei - 1.39%. European markets have also breathed out, with the German DAX trading 0.5% higher, the French CAC 40 - 0.7% higher, while UK’s FTSE 100 - 0.8% higher.

"Equities and other risk-on traders should be well supported by easing concerns about Trump's health. For the dollar, the impact is not quite as clear cut. It should fall against most currencies due to an increase in risk appetite, but the yen is also weak, and that's the one currency the dollar can rise against“ Junichi Ishikawa, senior currency strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo, comments. 

Indeed, the USD edged higher against the yen, but fell slightly against the Swiss franc as traders braced themselves for a volatile day on the global market arena. Many remain concerned following extra information from Trump’s doctor, who mentioned that the US president was given supplementary oxygen and steroids - a treatment used for severe cases of the coronavirus infection, even leaving aside the fact of his age - 74, which already puts the president into a high-risk group. 

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