⁍ Global equity markets slumped and investors piled into gold and the Japanese yen on Friday.
⁍ U.S. President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, adding to market uncertainty just 32 days before the U.S. election.
⁍ Gold posted its best week in eight even after paring gains, while the yen advanced sharply before also retreating a bit.
– Just 32 days before the US election, President Trump has tested positive for a virus that has killed two people and sickened more than a dozen others. The White House says the president has tested positive for coronavirus, a respiratory illness related to the Ebola virus that has killed two people and sickened more than a dozen others, the AP reports. Melania Trump has also tested positive for the virus and is in isolation in the White House. “While the president is recovering from his symptoms, he has decided to leave the White House to be with his family at this time to avoid the spread of the disease,” the White House said in a statement. Trump said Thursday that he and his wife have decided to leave the White House to be with their children, Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka, and to spend time at Mar-a-Lago, the Trump Turnberry golf club in Florida. Officials say the president, who is suffering from fever and aches, will continue to work from the White House despite the infection. “Today’s news demonstrates a bit of a weakness in terms of the Trump re-election campaign,’ Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for the US SPDR business at State Street Global Advisors, tells Reuters. “The range of outcomes has expanded and some of the more extreme outcomes have increased in probability, and markets certainly don’t like that.”
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/stocks-fall-dollar-gains-after-trump-gets-coronavirus-idUSKBN26N009