On the last day of September, most media outlets are processing last night’s presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The entire event was marked by chaos and talking over one another, with little successful control from the moderator.
However, Joe Biden resisted Donald Trump’s traps and did not make any of the mistakes he was accused of early on in his campaign. Donald Trump, on the other hand, garnered more criticism due to his refusal to denounce white supremacists, his repeated interruptions of Biden, and his avoidance of any coronavirus-related questions.
With the exception of Trump’s damning moments, the debate was not significant in any way and does not seem to have affected the financial markets much. Future debates might prove more meaningful.
Traders would fare better today if they took a look at the economic calendar, which is loaded with fundamental events. Early on in the day, economic reports from Japan came in better than expected, with the exception of the July leading economic index.
Furthermore, data from Germany showed lower than anticipated retail sales in August at 3.7% versus a forecast of 4.2%. However, the unemployment rate in Germany dropped more than expected in September to 6.3%.
The GDP growth rate in the United Kingdom also exceeded investors’ expectations at -21.5% versus a forecast of -21.7%. The United States will be publishing its own GDP growth report later today, together with a whole lot of other, slightly less significant reports.
In other news, companies are getting ready for a prolonged pandemic by firing large portions of their part-time or non-essential personnel. Disney is reportedly firing almost 30,000 people, which caused a big drop in its stock value. Oil and gas giant Shell is doing the same due to the pressure Covid-19 is exercising on the oil market. Unsurprisingly, US stock indices are on the downturn today.
Last but not least, the European Central Bank announced that it is ready to employ an approach similar to that used by the Federal Reserve and prepare to let inflation grow above 2% in the long term before increasing interest rates.
