Squawk Box Europe Express

U.S. markets see recent gains pared back as the tech rally begins to lose steam but gold holds at its highest level for 8 years. Investors turn risk-off after confirmed Covid-19 cases Stateside top 3 million. The WHO is set to update its guidance after evidence emerges that the Coronavirus could be airborne after all. In corporate news, logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL beats forecasts to deliver...

U.S. Covid-19 cases spike by 250,000 in five days but markets are undeterred, closing firmly in the green. White House health advisor Dr Anthony Fauci says there are increased numbers of young people affected by the virus and that immunity may be finite. Chinese markets also see five days of big gains but a U.S. government official says President Trump is preparing several executive orders which c...

Chinese stocks rally to four-month highs with the CSI 300 marking its best day since February 2019 as investors bet on a re-opening boom following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the WHO reports a record rise in infections, with the U.S. Sun Belt spiking and Spain re-imposing lockdowns in Catalonia and Galicia. In Germany, Commerzbank’s CEO and chairman both resign following a dispute with activis...

Record highs…the U.S. sees a daily spike of more than 50,000 Coronavirus infections but President Trump says the June non-farm payroll numbers of 4.8 million new jobs proves the economy is “roaring back”. The Chinese services sector has expanded at its fastest rate in more than a decade as lockdown measures are eased across the country and consumer demand continues to inch upwards. In Germany, Deu...

Re-opening reversal. Some of the largest U.S. states are forced to review their lockdown easing measures, with Apple shutting more stores and McDonald’s postponing in-house dining, as cases spike by around 50,000 in one day. June private payrolls in the U.S. rise less than expected, with layoffs jumping more than 300 per cent for 2020, ahead of the non-farm payrolls data. However, both U.S. and As...

The US records more than 47,000 Coronavirus cases, hitting a new daily record, as White House advisor Dr Anthony Fauci warns infections could reach more 'disturbing' levels. It’s a mixed start to the second half in Asian markets after closing out a bull-run in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin promises to extend up to $140bn in crisis loans for the hardest-hit...

Stocks look set to close the month firmly in the green, with the Dow Jones on pace to post its best quarter in more than two decades, while the Nasdaq sees its strongest quarter since 2001. Asian markets build on Wall Street’s gains on the back of encouraging PMI data out of China, which sees factory activity expand in June and improving trends in export orders. China passes the Hong Kong security...

A morbid milestone: global coronavirus cases pass the 10 million-mark with growing numbers across the U.S. Sun Belt states. The surge has prompted Florida to close beaches and California to shut down bars. The news sends Asian stocks lower despite some signs of recovery in China with May industrial profits rebounding, rising 6 per cent on the year. In advertising, a growing group of multinationals...

The U.S. Federal Reserve has restricted banks from paying dividends, following the results of stress tests in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. Financials stocks fall in extended trading as a result. Disgraced German payments giant Wirecard has filed for insolvency prompting the country’s finance minister, Olaf Scholz, to call for an overhaul in financial regulation. In retail news, Nike sees...

A surge in cases sparks a sharp sell-off. U.S. markets tumble with the Dow Jones falling by more than 700 points while the Nasdaq posted its first decline in nine sessions. This, as U.S. daily Coronavirus numbers soared to their highest peak since April with California logging a record 7,000 infections while cases in Florida spike above 5,500. Recession fears have also weighed on sentiment. T...

The spread of the outbreak quickens in the U.S., with Texas and Arizona seeing a spike in cases, in what top health official Anthony Fauci calls a “disturbing surge”. According to a document seen by the New York Times, the EU will reportedly prohibit American travellers from travelling to the bloc, listing the U.S. alongside Brazil and Russia for inadequate responses to the Coronavirus outbreak. I...

Mixed messages: White House trade advisor Peter Navarro is forced to backtrack, saying the US-China trade deal is not over after his earlier comments suggesting the agreement was “off” hit markets. Apple plans to switch to its own chips for Macs, ending a 15-year relationship with Intel. The tech giant's CEO Tim Cook tells developers it's a huge leap in...

A record rise in global coronavirus cases keeps markets on edge, with the US logging its second-highest number ever, while Brazil's infections top 50,000 and Germany sees its rate spike because of an outbreak at a slaughterhouse. In the U.S., President Trump makes a lackluster return to the campaign stage, as his rally in Tulsa draws a smaller than expected crowd. The U.S. leader used the rally to...

U.S equities head in different directions. The Dow closes slightly lower, as states like Arizona log record virus cases, diverging from the Nasdaq, which posts its first 5-day winning streak in a month. McDonalds plans to beef up its workforce this summer, with plans to hire 260-thousand people, as the fast food giant begins returning to normal operations in the US. S...

Trade tensions return after the US government pulls out of talks with European countries over their digital tax plans, dashing hopes of a global deal and reviving the prospect of tariffs. Brussels launches an anti-trust probe into Fiat Chrysler and PSA's 50 billion dollar mega merger, citing concerns over their dominant market share in the small vans market. In Asia, markets tr...

A retail rebound …. U.S. retail sales jump a record 17.7 per cent in May, beating expectations and helping the Dow close more than 500 points higher. But Fed chair Jerome Powell warns of significant uncertainty surrounding the timing and the strength of the US recovery, as he testifies before the US Senate, but plays down the central bank's latest push into the corporate bond market. Meanwhile, Pr...

A big comeback for stocks, as US futures surge after Wall Street swings back from a negative session and the Nikkei gains more than 4 percent. The Fed says it will begin buying individual corporate bonds on top of ETF purchases, in what is seen as another shift to more active market intervention. Meanwhile the WHO calls for an investigation into new coronavirus clusters, as the outb...

Asian stock markets and US Futures begin the week in the red, after the Dow posts its worst weekly performance since the middle of March. This as Chinese industrial output in May misses expectations as Beijing is forced to lock down more than 10 neighbourhoods following a Coronavirus outbreak at a local market, raising fears of a second wave in the country. In the U.S., infections also spike in th...

The worst moves since March... The Dow Jones falls by almost 7 per cent, breaking a three-week winning streak. The broad market sell-off means all the major U.S. averages suffer their worst performance in three months. The losses are led by the energy and technology sectors, with the biggest five tech names losing a collective $270bn in market value in just one day. The huge reversals have been pr...

Lower for longer…the U.S. Federal Reserve promises to keep rates near zero until at least 2022 to support the economic recovery in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, with chair Jerome Powell emphasising that policymakers are “not even thinking about thinking about raising rates.” The central bank has also issued its first economic forecasts since the outbreak, saying the U.S. economy could cont...

Big tech breaks out… FAANG stocks help the Nasdaq briefly pass through the 10,000-point mark for the first time, while the Dow suffers its worst day in three weeks, snapping a six-day winning streak. Investors focus on the Fed, as the central bank prepares to release its first economic forecasts since before the pandemic. Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman tells CNBC he believes that the worst of the...

U.S. markets surge with the Nasdaq closing at a record high and the S&P 500 turns positive for 2020 as investors wait on this month’s Federal Reserve rate decision. Veteran hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller tells CNBC that the current market rally and Fed moves caught him by surprise. President Trump has announced that he will not defund police departments after Democrats called for law...

Something to work on… Asian markets rise on an unexpected jump in U.S. employment but questions linger over whether misclassifications kept the unemployment rate lower in May. In energy news, oil rallies following an OPEC+ agreement to extend output cuts. Chinese exports for May fall unexpectedly, while imports plunge in their sharpest decline in four years. Protests continue across the U.S., with...

Big Bazooka…Italian bond yields fall after ECB President Christine Lagarde announces an almost €600bn extension to its pandemic support package in order to help offset the sharp growth contraction throughout the eurozone. In Asia, markets edge higher as U.S. averages break a four-day winning streak. Unemployment in the States, however, is set to near 20 per cent in today’s jobs report. We hear exc...

Markets undeterred… the S&P 500 posts its longest winning streak since February. This, despite the ongoing unrest across the U.S., as well as divisions over the response within the White House. The ECB is reportedly ready to expand its asset purchase programme as the central bank looks set to release gloomy growth projections for the eurozone. Meanwhile, Berlin announces a €130bn stimulus pack...