U.S Stock futures plunged by more than 1.6% or 500 Dow points after President Trump confirmed that he and the first lady tested positive for coronavirus.
“Tonight, FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recover process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” President Donald Trump tweeted earlier today.
Also read; President Trump and First Lady test positive for Covid-19
The Dow Industrials’ futures (US 30 futures) had only been down 50 points before the announcement. At the time of this report, the futures is down 357 points (1.27%) according to data from investing.com.
The S&P 500 futures (US 500 contract futures) went down 1.5% or 51 points. At the time of this report, it has recovered slightly, currently down 1.35% or 45.58 points.
The Nasdaq futures (US Tech 100 futures) was declining by 1.8% or more than 200 points. At the time of this report, the futures is down by 1.67% or 192.75 points.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended the trading session down 0.67%, after returning from a day in which that market saw its trading day halted following a technical failure.
Markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for a second day due to holidays.
Ahead of the European open, futures are indicating a drop of 1% on London’s FTSE.
Gold is trading up $2.15, or 0.11% at $1,918.45.
The U.S. dollar rose, particularly against the British pound, the Australian and New Zealand dollars in a sign of risk aversion.
Written by;
Nnamdi M.
