Stocks slammed amid virus threat, again

Equities plunged into negative territory on Friday as Thursday’s rally was sold into, and it looks like a bearish trap. Indices were down 1-2% across the board shortly after the US opening bell. 

Texas Gov Abbott has officially ordered taverns in the state to close in response to the virus. Stocks did not like this news and were sold-off steeply. The early reopening of the economy has undoubtedly restored jobs and incomes, but it has come at the probable cost of an uptick in the spread of the virus.

Moreover, The University of Michigan’s final sentiment index fell to 78.1 from a preliminary reading of 78.9.

The overall confidence in government economic policies dropped in June to the lowest level since President Donald Trump entered office, which may underscore the need for additional relief programs from lawmakers.

The US dollar was bid in the risk-off trading, and the EURUSD pair was testing the 1.12 threshold again, while the USDJPY pair was flattish above the 107 level. 

Oil fell along with stocks, and the WTI threshold was down 3% to trade near 38 USD.