Archives of “Coronavirus” tag

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S&P index leads the way. NASDAQ lags but closes higher for the 2nd straight day

  
Analysis, US Market
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S&P index closes just below breakeven level for 2020

The US stocks are ending the session with gains across the board. The gains are led by the S&P index which rose by 0.91%. The NASDAQ index lagged, but still gained 0.59%.

For the S&P index, it toyed with closing above the breakeven level for the year for the 1st time since February 25. However, that quest failed. The index is ending the day 0.13% from that breakeven level (2019 closes at 3230.78 while the close today is at 3226.56).

This week there has been a rotation out of the high flying tech stocks vs. the broader/industrial stocks. For the last 5 trading days the Dow industrial average is up 3.08% and the S&P index is up 1.79%, while the tech heavy NASDAQ index is up only 0.55%.
Nevertheless both the NASDAQ and the S&P index are up for 2 consecutive days. The Dow is riding a 4 day win streak.
The final numbers are showing:
  • S&P index +29.03 points or 0.91% at 3226.55
  • NASDAQ index up 61.915 points or 0.59% at 10550.49
  • Dow up 227.51 points or 0.85% at 26870.10.
Will tomorrow be the day for the S&P index to close the black? Maybe, but going forward headline news from more earnings releases, coronavirus cases, vaccines and therapeutics will continue to exert their influences. Each of which could upset the apple cart in a bullish or bearish direction.

Florida coronavirus cases 12624 vs 15299 yesterday

  
  Analysis
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Coronavirus data from Florida for July 13, 2020:

  • Florida yesterday set a one-day state record of 15,299 cases (6274 last Monday)
  • Total cases 282,435 vs 269,811 yesterday
  • Residents hospitalized  vs 18,271 yesterday
  • Currently hospitalized +514 to 8038
  • Median age 41 vs 38 yesterday
  • Deaths +35
  • Number of people tested 112,264 vs 142,981 yesterday (48,503 last Monday)
  • Positivity 11.51% vs 11.25% yesterday (14.92% last Monday)
This is worse than expected. Given the usual weekend effect, I would have expected a number below 10,000. However testing was still fairly high.

Japan reaffirms that state of emergency declaration is not needed for now

  
  Analysis
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Tokyo finds another 119 new coronavirus cases today

Japan economy minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura, is out to reaffirm that there is no need to declare another state of emergency in Tokyo just yet despite the consistent jump in the number of coronvirus cases in the capital over the past two weeks.
The count today may be skewed due to the ‘weekend effect’, with Tokyo having previously reported over 200 new cases each day over the last four days before this:
Tokyo

Wuhan study says there may be no herd immunity against the coronavirus

  
  Analysis
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Scary stuff

Scary stuff
The nightmare scenario for coronavirus is that there is no vaccine and no natural immunity. We’re months away from finding out anything on a vaccine but a report today on immunity is worrisome.
Chinese and Texas researchers tested 23,000 Wuhan healthcare workers for antibodies of the disease that would help them fight off a new infection. Only 4% had them when they estimated that at least 25% could have contracted the disease.
“People are unlikely to produce long-lasting protective antibodies against this virus,” the researchers concluded in a non-peer-reviewed paper posted on preprint website medRxiv.org on Tuesday.
The study showed the people with more-obvious and stronger symptoms tended to have antibodies. That suggests people who fought it off with mild symptoms may not have developed antibodies.

Testing, Vaccine & Treatment Medical News:

  
Analysis, LINKS
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Antibody Tests Point To Lower Death Rate For The Coronavirus Than First Thought (NPR)
• Coronavirus May Be a Blood Vessel Disease, Which Explains Everything (Medium)
• Wuhan’s Mass Testing May Have Eradicated the Coronavirus (Bloomberg)
• At-Home Covid-19 Testing Arrives, With Accuracy and Access Questions (Wall Street Journal)
• Surgisphere: governments and WHO changed Covid-19 policy based on suspect data from tiny US company (The Guardian)
• The Top Canadian Doctor Who Aced the Coronavirus Test (NYT)
• Georgia student, son of 2 first responders, creates lifesaving COVID-19 equipment (NBC News)
• A mysterious company’s coronavirus papers in top medical journals may be unraveling (Science mag)
• ‘Superspreaders’ Could Actually Make Covid-19 Easier to Control (Bloomberg)
• Biotech Startup Aims to Make Use of Humanity’s Genetic Outliers (Businessweek)
• Self Assured Destruction: Covid-19 is now endemic in the United States. (Epsilon Theory)
• The C.D.C. Waited ‘Its Entire Existence for This Moment.’ What Went Wrong? (New York Times) 

WHO chief scientist: No evidence that any drug reducing mortality of patients

  
  Analysis
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Runs counter to the implied talking points from Pres. Trump

The WHO chief scientists is on the wires saying that:
  • No evidence that any drug reducing mortality of patients that have Covid 19.
He adds nevertheless that:
  • experts advise the continuation of all forms of the solid parity trial including hydroxychloroquine srm
  • No reason to modify clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine in Covid 19
There has been some leakage to the downside in the US stock indices of the last few minutes. The NASDAQ index is currently trading at 9649 after trading is highs 9678.77. The S&P index is trading at 3114.66 vs. a high of 3119.95.
Other Covid 19 news headlines.
UK’s Johnson says:

  • the air quarters only to be considered when it is a safe
  • no one is safe until we all are safe from the virus
  • urges people to not move outdoor gatherings indoors if it rains
  • there could be a 2nd wave of virus across the world
  • the UK chief science advisor adds have to tread cautiously in lifting UK lockdown
in Italy, PM Conte is saying:
  • facts show that virus has disappeared
  • virus reconstruction is the time for long-delayed reforms
  • government working to speed up 8 payments
Italy reports 321 new coronavirus cases vs. 318 on Tuesday. The death toll rose by 71 vs. 55 on Tuesday
New York said that the cases rose by 0.3% vs. the 7 day average of 0.4%.
Finally New Jersey’s governor Murphy is out saying:
  • deaths reach 11,880 and cases reach 162,068
  • he urges protesters to keep distance and wear masks during George Floyd demonstrations.
  • At least 6 demonstrations today in New Jersey

Novavax will begin human testing of its coronavirus vaccine …in Australia

  
  Analysis
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Novavax says it has begun enrolling participants in first human study of its coronavirus vaccine

  • The company says it’ll test vaccine safety, immune responses in about 130 healthy adults in Australia
  • expects initial results in July
  • to expand study to US if promising

The big problem I see here is how to begin the pump and dump scheme if NASDAQ is closed for the holiday?

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Novavax is a US vaccine development company.

Novavax says it has begun enrolling participants in first human study of itscoronavirus vaccine

How hesitant would you be to take a coronavirus vaccine?

  
  Analysis
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According to a poll by Reuters/Ipsos, a quarter of Americans have little or no interest in taking a coronavirus vaccine

Virus
The survey was conducted on 13 May to 19 May, and gathered 4,428 respondents with 14% saying that they were ‘not at all interested’ in taking a vaccine and a further 10% saying that they were ‘not very interested’.
That said, an important thing to point out is that the hesitance can be tied back to the record-breaking pace that pharmaceutical companies are working at to churn out a vaccine.
Among those who expressed little or no interest in taking a vaccine, nearly half said that they were worried about the speed in which one is being developed – with more than 40% believing that the vaccine may be riskier than the disease itself.

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China’s Wuhan has officially banned the eating of wild animals

  
  Analysis
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Wuhan was the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in China. Its a big city, with a population of around 11m people.

City authorities there have officially banned the eating of all wild animals,
  • Wuhan will become a “wildlife sanctuary”
  • virtually all hunting of wild animals to be banned (exception for “scientific research, population regulation, monitoring of epidemic diseases and other special circumstances”).
  • also introduced controls on the breeding of all wild animals
  • prohibiting any to be reared for food
The coronavirus spread from bats to people in wet markets in the city.
Wuhan was the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in China. Its a big city, with a population of around 11m people. 

Moderna reports ‘positive data’ on early-stage coronavirus vaccine trial

  
  Analysis
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Just about everyone is making vaccine progress these days

It is tough to try and make sense of the developments of a coronavirus vaccine when we are trading on whatever the companies are telling us, rather than the science of it. But hey, that’s what happens when you don’t have that medical/biotech background.
In a statement today, Moderna is saying that it has had ‘positive data’ from its early-stage human trial for a coronavirus vaccine. Shares are jumping by more than 10% in pre-market as the company reports on their progress and this is also lifting general sentiment.
According to reports, the vaccine helped to produce coronavirus antibodies in all 45 participants of the trial. From a report by CNBC:

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