UK News

European markets set to open lower after Trump tests positive for coronavirus


European stocks are expected to open lower on Friday after President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had both tested positive for Covid-19 and were now in quarantine.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is seen down more than 69 points at 5,807, France’s CAC 40 index is poised to open 48 points lower at 4,765, while Germany’s DAX is on track to open 121 points lower at 12,588, according to IG.

It comes shortly after the U.S. president, 74, confirmed that he and Melania Trump, 50, were going into quarantine.

“We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” Trump said via Twitter.

Hope Hicks, the 31-year-old adviser to Trump, had tested positive for the coronavirus earlier in the day. Hicks had traveled with the president on Air Force One to a televised debate held in Ohio this week.

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mostly lower on the news, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index shedding more than 1.3% to lead losses. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.8% for the session after the Tokyo Stock Exchange resumed normal trading following its worst-ever outage.

Stateside, stock futures plunged in early morning deals as investors reacted to the news of Trump’s positive Covid-19 test. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 500 points, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 in negative territory.

On the data front, market participants are likely to closely monitor the U.S. Labor Department’s report on nonfarm payrolls and the jobless rate later in the session.



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