A sell-off occurred in the US market on Thursday, as a result of which all major indices posted significant declines. Dow Jones slipped 0.8%, while Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
Unsurprisingly, the oil market also fell, continuing the decline that started the previous day. Price sank 7% from the highs, which is approximately $ 4.
And this morning, Asian markets also plunged, showing a 0.5% drop in both Japan and China indices.
But all this should change in the coming days, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finally agreed on a new fund worth $ 650 billion. The money will be used to help countries hit by the coronavirus crisis, and will be carried out by placing SDRs (special drawing rights).
Presently, economic recovery continues in many countries. The EU, for example, keeps on showing improvements even in the aviation industry. One report said the supply of Airbus aircraft increased by 1.5 times in June.
US also showed steady growth of about 6% per annum.
But in UK, business activity slowed in both manufacturing and services sectors. Thankfully, GDP still grew 3.6% year-on-year.
Consumer demand in China also decreased, so CPI slipped to 0.4% in June.
Going back to the markets, the decline observed yesterday is perhaps a belated reaction to the Federal Reserve's minutes of the meeting. The notes indicated the central bank's readiness to reduce, if not terminate, the existing support programs, which the Fed implemented to help float the economy.
Another reason could be the long overdue correction, since the market grew more than 15% since the beginning of the year. The S&P 500 index went from 3.700 points to 4.300 points.
The dollar index also fell, dropping from 92.70 points to 92.50 points. Its range now is 92.0 - 93.0 points.
Accordingly, USD/CAD also declined, falling to 1.2530. It is expected to fluctuate around 1.2450-1.2650.
With regards to the world's epidemiological situation, latest data say the increase in COVID-19 cases was 480,000 on Wednesday, which is thankfully below record high. 32,000 of it came from Britain, while 19,000 came from the US.
Conclusion: Further movement will depend on the upcoming data on US inflation, as well as the Fed's policy decisions in July.
