Archives of “April 7, 2020” day

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UK PM spokesman: Boris Johnson has not been diagnosed with pneumonia

  
  Analysis

Comments by UK PM spokesman, James Slack

  • Johnson was stable overnight and remains in good spirits
  • Johnson is not on ventilator, is receiving oxygen
  • Government has a clear plan to respond to coronavirus
  • Cabinet is working to implement it
  • Downing Street remains fully operational
  • Expects there to be an update on Johnson’s condition later today
The headlines have helped to give the pound a little nudge with cable rising to a high of 1.2358 before backing off a little to 1.2330 levels currently. So far, they are managing to alleviate fears surrounding Johnson’s hospitalisation and that is helping to calm the market.

Japan PM Abe officially declares state of emergency in seven prefectures

  
Analysis, Politics

Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, makes the announcement

The state of emergency will last up to a month and will apply to the prefectures of Tokyo, Osaka, Chiba, Kanagawa, Hyogo, Saitama and Fukuoka.

Abe also adds that they will withdraw the order as soon as it is clear that people’s lives are no longer in danger or if the measures are no longer needed.

Just be reminded that Japan cannot legally enforce its citizens to stay at home but considering that the government has finally shown its seriousness, expect this to be somewhat equivalent to lockdown measures deployed in other countries around the world.
Expect this to weigh heavily on the Japanese economy – more so than what we have seen so far – during the month, as the state of emergency is set to run from 7 April until 6 May.

France says that lockdown to last as long as needed

  
  Analysis

Comments by French health minister, Olivier Véran

  • Epidemic has not yet reached its peak
For most governments around the world, it is going to be a battle of managing expectations over the next few days/weeks as the lockdown measures are showing a positive effect in containing the virus outbreak globally.
People are growing more anxious by the day and the sudden change in lifestyle over the past few weeks have been drastic for billions of people across the globe.
However, for most countries, it is all about trying to ensure that they don’t see a secondary outbreak when restrictions are lifted. And lifting them too soon may cause such a situation. In other words, better be safe than sorry – at least from a health perspective.

Nikkei 225 closes higher by 2.01% at 18,950.18

  
Analysis, Global Indices

Asian equities push higher after solid gains from Wall Street overnight

Nikkei 07-04

Japanese stocks are keeping higher after some tepid tones in US futures during the session as we saw E-minis erase 0.7% gains to fall by 0.5% before climbing back to sit higher by 0.6% currently as we approach European trading.

The Hang Seng is also up by 1% on the day while the Shanghai Composite nears 2% gains as Asian stocks are making the most out of the positive mood to start the week.
In the currencies space, it is all about the dollar softness today as the greenback slips across the board. USD/JPY is lower by bout 0.4% at 108.80 while AUD/USD is posting near 1% gains at 0.6145 currently.

Germany February industrial production +0.3% vs -0.8% m/m expected

  
Analysis, Economy

Latest data released by Destatis – 7 April 2020

  • Prior +3.0%
  • Industrial production WDA -1.2% vs -3.0% y/y expected
  • Prior -1.3%
Slight delay in the release by the source. Again, the most important thing here is the month as this pertains to February conditions, which have not been impacted by the virus outbreak and lockdown measures across the country and region.
Hence, you can look past the “better” readings here as they aren’t that meaningful anymore.
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