Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, amid heightened tensions between the US and China
- China pledges to ‘support’ Hong Kong’s police as US warned not to interfere
- UK says it will extend Hongkongers’ visa rights if China pursues security laws
11.17am BST
All that glitters is…silver?
The drop across global stock markets has pushed up safe havens assets including gold which is now trading higher by 0.4% at $1,725 per ounce
With gold struggling to make new highs, the market prefers silver, which has lagged gold considerably in this year’s rally, and positioning does not seem to be a factor. Even the typical fast money momentum traders are avoiding selling silver these days.
10.52am BST
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, says tensions between the US and China over Hong Kong are driving the drop in US futures. But aside from geopolitical tensions, carmakers and tech stocks will also take centre stage on Wall Street today.
Renault’s stock, a French car maker, is going to be the primary focus among investors. The company has announced to lay off 14,600 jobs worldwide, nearly 4,600 job losses in France, and reduce its production capacity by nearly a fifth. The strategy is designed to stop the cash bleed under the current circumstances. There is no denying that the automobile industry has been hit hard, and the bigger question is whether we will see a similar reaction from other carmakers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
The stock plunged over four percent yesterday after Twitter decided to fact check Trump’s tweets. Under the current law, social platform companies such as Twitter and Facebook are protected for their user’s posts.
However, Trump signed an executive order and called for a new law. Trump calls it freedom of speech, and this threatens the liability shield that companies like Twitter currently enjoy.
Source: Hong Kong tensions end winning streak for global stock markets – business live
Category: Business, Economics, Sterling, FTSE, Stock markets, Coronavirus outbreak, Eurozone
