(21 February 2020)DAILY MARKET BRIEF 1:Travel stocks to feel the pressure of renewed coronavirus anxiety.
It’s about time we start seeing bad data creeping in and giving us a better perception of the true impact of the coronavirus on the global
economy. In this respect, recent releases point that new car sales plunged 92% in China in February and the airline traffic is expected to
post the first drop since 2011 amid heavy virus containment measures in China and elsewhere took a heavy toll on travel globally.
US
stock indices closed Thursday’s session in the red. Most Asian equity markets edged lower on Friday. Korean stocks (-1.49%) led losses on
news that coronavirus infections jumped by 52 to 156 cases in South Korea. Nikkei (-0.39%) and the ASX 200 (-0.33%) eased, while stocks in
Shanghai (+0.31%) gained on hope that decent monetary and fiscal measures deployed by China could help fighting back the virus impact on the
economy.
FTSE (-0.47%) and DAX (-0.71%) futures hint that European indices could extend losses at Friday’s open. With discouraging
news hanging on travel headlines, we could expect airline companies and carmakers coming under a decent selling pressure before the weekly
closing bell.
British gold miners, on the other hand, should continue benefiting from the relentless rise in gold prices. The ounce of
precious metal rose to $1628, a seven-year high, and despite sky-high prices, sellers are nowhere to be found even on risk-positive
sessions.
By Ipek Ozkardeskaya
