Here is what you need to know on Monday, April 6:
The market mood is positive, with stocks on the rise and the safe-haven dollar and yen under pressure. Italy and Spain have reported substantial slowdowns in the number of new coronavirus deaths in cases. France’s curve is also showing tentative signs of flattering despite the country’s broader counting. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and Italy is considering how to exit its lockdown.
European leaders remain at odds about the economic response, with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warning that the survival of the EU rests on the answer to the pandemic. The Sentix Investor Confidence for April is set to further decline.
The pound is the exception after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been hospitalized as his temperature remained high after suffering from the disease for ten days. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab will chair Monday’s cabinet meeting. The 55-year PM was reportedly admitted for precautionary reasons, but investors are nervous amid the lack of improvement in his condition. UK mortalities are near 5,000, and Queen Elisabeth made a rare address to the nation.
The US is bracing for the worst weak in fighting COVID-19, described by the surgeon general Jerome Adams as the “Pearl Harbor” moment. US cases have topped 300,000, and illness has taken the lives of nearly 10,000 people. President Donald Trump has raised the idea of sending more cash to Americans and announced that the administration is buying hydroxychloroquine. This anti-malaria drug has yet to prove efficient to battle the virus.
The US economy lost 701,000 jobs in March, according to the Non-Farm Payrolls report, which refers to the week including March 12, thus excluding the deterioration later in the month.
Japan is set to join other developed economies and declare a state of emergency after an increase in COVID-19 cases, especially in Tokyo.
Oil prices are falling after a videoconference between OPEC and non-OPEC was pushed back from Monday to Thursday. Markets fear that a deal to cut some 10-15 million barrels of daily production that Trump touted is still far away. Comments from Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the US are set to move crude prices during the day.
Cryptocurrencies are on the rise, with Bitcoin edging closer to $7,000.
More: Explained: What indicators matter in coronavirus times
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