Ostensibly a session where investors were forced to consider the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the day’s data, the Western markets still managed to keep their losses at the more reasonably end of the spectrum.
Tuesday began with a warning from the iPhone maker that its revenue for the current quarter would be lower than forecast due to manufacturing issues in China. That was followed by a pair of ZEW economic forecast figures that drastically undershot expectations; the German reading fell from 26.7 to 8.7, while the Eurozone-wide number slumped from 25.6 to 10.4.
Yet instead of panicking, the European and US indices posted relatively mild declines. The FTSE was down 0.7%, slipping under 7400, as was the DAX, which dipped below 13700. Even the Apple-burdened Dow Jones wasn’t too upset, its 200 point slide still leaving it one good session away from returning to its all-time highs.
Potentially helping to drown out the alarm bells was President Xi Jinping’s argument that China can still hit its 6% growth target in 2020 – a bold, likely misleading claim that nevertheless may have acted to mitigate Tuesday’s losses.
Elsewhere, despite a sharper than forecast drop in wage growth, the pound rose following a UK jobs 180k people added to the labour force in the 3 months ending December 2019. That new Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the March 11th budget wouldn’t be delayed may have also helped sterling rise 0.2% against the dollar and 0.4% against the euro.
Disclaimer: Spreadex provides an execution only service and the comments above do not constitute (or should not be construed as constituting) investment advice or recommendations, or a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Any person placing trades based on their interpretations of the above comments does so entirely at their own risk. Spreadex Ltd is a financial and sports spread betting and sports fixed odds betting firm, which specialises in the personal service and credit area. Founded in 1999, Spreadex is recognised as one of the longest established spread betting firms in the industry with a strong reputation for its high level of customer service and account management.
In relation to spread betting, Spreadex Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit. It may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure you fully understand the risks involved."]