The major stock markets hit new highs by the end of the trading day on Wednesday. News that the number of new infections of coronavirus was down for the second day in a row seems to have lifted the cloud hanging over many investors.
China has also announced that it is seeking to get more businesses open and operating. More transportation modes will be activated enabling more employees to get to work, which will encourage the oil and energy industries.
The Stock Market
The Dow closed today at 29,348.03, which was up 115.84 points, or 0.40%. Nasdaq saw an increase of 84.44 points, which is 0.87%. The S&P also increased today by 15.86 points or 0.47%.
Gold
Gold has also risen in value today, which is sure to get some investors excited. It is currently at $1,611.63, which is a gain of 11.66 or 0.73%. This is a gain of 43.60 or 2.80% over the last 30 days.
Coronavirus Impact
Even though trading has increased in some sectors, there is no doubt that coronavirus is still having a strong impact. China is not yet bustling with activity and not everyone is rushing back to work. It seems that many smaller businesses do not have the money to pay their employees, which would make it very hard to get employees motivated to return.
People in China are also unlikely to fully be convinced that the worst of the outbreak is over. The government has changed its tune more than once as to how to identify coronavirus and what deaths are not related – when they really are. This will likely create further problems as people are not making money there but it will also prevent them from buying anything other than absolute essentials.
The market was encouraged today by the Chinese government when it declared that it would help struggling businesses that have been affected by the virus outbreak. Another piece of positive news is that there were not nearly as many new cases reported or deaths. Worldwide, the number of new cases was 726, and the number of deaths today was 118. Both numbers are drastically lower than previously.
Cryptocurrency
You can look for the United States to investigate what will happen if this country loses its status as the primary reserve currency. These fears are being stirred by the possibility of cryptocurrencies from other nations replacing the dollar. Other fears are also raised as possibilities, such as it may mean that the U.S. could not control terrorism as easily, sanctions may become very difficult, and weapons of mass destruction may not be able to be prevented.
The organization that has been tasked with the investigation is the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Technology. A new organization called the Digital Dollar Foundation has been given the task to work on the design and possible system behind the digital dollar.
The interest in Bitcoin has shown to governments that cryptocurrency can work and that there is a strong interest in it. Although there have been some problems, its low cost to transfer money anywhere, along with its rise in value has nations seriously looking into it and some are testing their own version.
Bitcoin took a bit of a sudden slide today, with a closing value of $9,587.45, which means it decreased in value by 5.78%. This was a loss of $686.19 per Bitcoin after the noon hour.
The world will be waiting to see if tomorrow’s statistics about coronavirus are also low. If so, the markets can be expected to reach new highs once again.