Market opens sharply higher to begin the new week. Optimism about the curve bending seems to be the catalyst. Global markets were higher overnight. President Trump said this is going to be the hardest week but expressed hope the country was seeing a “leveling off” of the crisis, while VP Mike Pence said the coronavirus task force was seeing signs of virus cases “stabilizing.” That sure would be a major positive. It’s just way too early to rush to judgment. The data is really just beginning, when it comes to the virus and its impact. There were 10 Million jobless claims in just two weeks. That is more than the claims made in 106 weeks in the Financial Crisis 2008-10. Some of those jobs are not coming back. Some of those businesses are not coming back. But the US Economy will recover. If our nation is disciplined and courageous, it could come back better than ever. It just won’t return to full strength quickly. Crude prices are lower, but off the overnight lows, as a deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia is in question. The OPEC meeting got pushed out by a couple of days. Demand has been destroyed with the economic shutdowns around the globe. Supplies are still massive. A lot of jobs are being lost in a Texas.
Have a great morning,
Mike Frazier