Today the world awoke to 15.3 Covid-19 cases. The most affected countries all recorded extremely high numbers yesterday. The United States added another 72,000 new infections to its tally, with California breaking its daily record with over 12,000 cases. Brazil had another 65,000 newly confirmed cases. India registered over 45,000 yesterday.
Some positive news came out of Europe today. Germany’s consumer sentiment index came in at -0.3 against a forecast of -5, after having dropped to -23 in May. This indicates that the government’s most recent stimulus measures, notably where taxes are concerned, are working and helping Germany recover.
Since today is Thursday, we expect key unemployment data from the United States. The initial and continuing jobless claims reports will be published today and investors are curious to see if the recent spike in coronavirus cases have contributed to higher unemployment like they did when Covid-19 first arrived in the US.
Despite an increase in US oil stockpiles, today oil prices are steady and ready to increase. The Brent crude is trading around $44.39, while the WTI is at $42.02 today. Part of the reason for the increase in oil prices is the weakness of the US dollar.
Tesla is making news today after posting a surprising profit in the second quarter of 2020. Tesla stocks are going up and there is more and more speculation that the eco-friendly car maker will finally be allowed to join the S&P 500 index.
Microsoft also performed better than anticipated. Today investors have their eye on AT&T and Intel.
