Here is what you need to know on Wednesday, April 8:
The market mood is mixed after US stock gains vanished late on Tuesday. The slide allowed the dollar to recover, and it is rising across the board early on Wednesday.
Coronavirus has already infected more than 1.4 million and taken the lives of over 82,000 people. US cases are almost 400,000, and deaths are nearly 13,000. President Donald Trump blamed the World Health Organization for lousy advice and sacked the person responsible for managing the stimulus funds.
Johnson: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in charge. Updates from St. Thomas hospital are airtight. Deaths from coronavirus in Britain have hit a new high on Tuesday. Government officials have admitted that the initial “herd immunity” tactic of refraining from lockdowns was a mistake.
EUR/USD is pressured under 1.09 after eurozone finance ministers failed to agree on a joint economic response to the crisis, with Italy leading a camp supporting coronabonds and Germany leading objections to mutualizing the debt. Various compromises have been considered.
Europe: Spain, Italy, France, and Germany continue “flattening the curve” of COVID-19 cases, but all have seen bumps in mortalities. Austria, Denmark, and Norway are moving to lift some restrictions next week.
The Australian dollar has dropped after S&P cut Australia’s credit rating. The New Zealand dollar has shrugged off a drop of the ANZ Business Confidence to a record low.
Japan has entered a state of emergency and has warned of a surge in cases, reaching 80,000 cases in the next few months.
Oil prices bounce after suffering a downfall on Tuesday. Tensions are mounting toward the OPEC+ videoconference on Thursday.
The Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes from the latest emergency meetings stand out late in the day. It may shed light on how worried officials were of a financial crisis and perhaps what else they have in store.
See FOMC Minutes Preview: How worried was the Fed on March 15?
Cryptocurrencies have been holding onto their gains, with Bitcoin trading above $7,300.
More: GBP/USD downtrend intact, Gold has room to rise, top tips for traders – interview with Slobodan Drvenica
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