Covid-19 Daily Dashboard – 28 August 2020
An overview of key economic and financial metrics.
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Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics relating to Covid-19 on 28 August 2020.
Equities: The markets performance in Europe was mixed this morning. The STOXX 600 and the DAX are currently down -0.1%, while CAC 40 is up +0.1% and the FTSE 250 remains stable. In the US, futures for the S&P 500 are up +0.4%, reaching a new all time high to 3,500 points. In Asia, the CSI 300 was the best performing index (+2.4%), followed by the Hang Seng and the Kospi (+0.6% and +0.4%). On the other hand, the S&P / ASX 200 and the TOPIX declined by -0.9% and -0.7% respectively.
VIX: The CBOE market volatility index, also known as the ‘investor fear gauge’, is currently at 24.8, a +1.5% increase over yesterday’s close. In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 volatility price index is currently at 24.3, up from 23.2 yesterday and above the long term average.
Bonds: 10-year bond yields have softened across the board so far this morning. The US, UK and Germany 10-year bond yield have all increased +1bp to 0.76%, 0.35% and -39% respectively.
Currency: Both sterling and the euro have appreciated to $1.33 and $1.19 respectively. Hedging benefits for US dollar denominated investors into the UK and the eurozone are 0.26% and 1.11% per annum on a five-year basis.
Oil: Brent Crude is trading up +1.1% to $45.6 per barrel, slightly below yesterday’s intraday peak, which was the highest level since early March. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) remains stable at $43.03 per barrel.
Baltic Dry: The Baltic Dry lost -0.3% yesterday, declining to 1,504, albeit +37% above where it was in January.
Gold: The price of gold is up +1.8% to $1,968 per troy ounce, -4.6% below the record high reached earlier this month.
US GDP: Annualised US GDP for Q2 2020 has been revised up to -31.7% from -32.9%, according to the Commerce Department’s second reading. This remains the worst quarterly contraction in US history.
US Unemployment: There were 1.0 million new unemployment applications in the week to 22nd August, broadly in line with market expectations and lower than the previous week’s reading of 1.1 million.