Macro Roundup (Sep 29)

SHANGHAI, Sep 29 (SMM) — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The dollar pulled back from a two-month high against a basket of currencies on Monday as equities rallied after four straight weeks of declines ahead of a slew of economic data and political developments in the United States.

A rebound in US stocks at the end of last week helped slow the climb of the dollar, considered a safe haven, but signs of a slowdown in the nascent recovery from the pandemic and political uncertainties have kept investors on the defensive.

Major indexes on Wall Street were up more than 1% as stocks bounced after four straight weeks of declines. On Sunday, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she thought a deal could be reached with the White House on a fresh coronavirus relief package as talks continued.

Oil prices edged up on Monday as global equities rallied on hopes for another US stimulus package, but rising virus cases fed concerns about fuel demand and kept oil futures from moving higher.

Gold rose on Monday, erasing early losses as the dollar retreated from a two-month peak ahead of the US presidential debates this week, although a stock market rebound capped gains in bullion.

On Wall Street, US stock futures ticked slightly higher on Monday evening ahead of the first presidential debate on Tuesday.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 80 points, or 0.3%. Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also gained about 0.3%. The quiet move in futures follows a solid start to the week for stocks during Monday’s session, with the Dow rising 410 points, or 1.5%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 1.6% and 1.9%, respectively.

In Europe, Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said in an interview published over the weekend that the central bank’s investigation into whether negative interest rates could help the British economic recovery has yielded “encouraging” results.

On the coronavirus front, the virus has killed at least 1 million people across the globe, a nightmarish milestone in the world’s fight against the virus that emerged from Wuhan, China, late last year, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Roughly half of the world’s total Covid-19 fatalities have been reported in only four countries — the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico, according to Hopkins data.

The U.S. reached a death toll above 200,000 people last week, more than any other country on the planet. Declared a pandemic over six months ago, the coronavirus has swept through nearly every nation and has infected more than 33 million people along the way, according to Johns Hopkins. It’s shuttered businesses and schools, wreaking havoc on global economies and leaving millions unemployed.

Eurozone economic climate index and final consumer confidence index for September, German consumer price index (CPI) for September and the Conference Board consumer confidence index for September are set for release today.