25 Jun COVID FEARS FRONT AND CENTER; DATA DUMP AT 8:30
Equities declined on Covid nervousness. In some regions, cases are rising dramatically. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are requiring visitors to self-quarantine if traveling from virus hot spots. Will the perceived insurgence hamper the recovery? Johns Hopkins states cases increased by 1.4% Tuesday, nominally higher than the average daily increase of 1.3% over the past seven days.
Radically changing topics, the rebound from the March lows has been focused in several stocks. FAANGM now comprise a record 24% of the S & P 500. Their total capitalization is greater than the GDP of Mexico and Japan combined.
Wow! In years gone by, all would for search for the underfollowed company. Today it is all about the greatest owned companies hoping for yet even more buyers. This has been the trend for several years but now it is beyond the manic stage. No one knows when this trend will end but like every other trend this too shall end.
The economic calendar is crowded today. How will the markets interpret jobless claims, durable goods, inventories, a regional manufacturing index and revised GDP? The Citicorp surprise index is still at record levels. As noted many times the data is consistently stronger than expected.
Last night the foreign markets were mixed. London was down 0.14%, Paris up 0.48% and Frankfurt up 0.52%. China was up 0.30%, Japan down 1.22% and Hang Sang down 0.50%.
The Dow should open nominally lower on Covid fears. The 10-year is up 6/32 to yield 0.68%.