⁍ Global equity markets slumped and investors piled into safer gold and the Japanese yen on Friday.

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⁍ U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus, adding to market uncertainty just 32 days before U.S. elections.

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⁍ Gold headed toward its best week in nearly two months while the Japanese yen made its sharpest gain in more than a month.

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– With just 32 days left before the US presidential election, news that President Trump and his wife have tested positive for the virus that causes the common cold is spooking investors. The Dow fell more than 200 points, or 0.9%, in the first minutes of trading Friday, reports the Wall Street Journal. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also were down more than 1%. “We’re going to have to wait until the end of the weekend for more clarity on the situation,” a market analyst at RW Baird & Co. in New York tells Reuters. “It will weigh on the market today and early next week but will not induce a long-lasting correction if the infection is contained to Trump,” he says. “Depending on how this situation evolves over the weekend, notably if more members of the US government’s senior leadership are diagnosed positive, gold could be set for an extended rally.”