Covid-19 Daily Dashboard – 4 May 2020
An overview of key economic and financial metrics.
1 minute to read
Equities
Renewed tensions between the US and China continue to impact global equities. This morning, declines were led by Paris’s CAC 40, down -3.1%, followed by the DAX (-2.9%), STOXX 600 (-2.8%) and FTSE 100 (-0.5%).
VIX
In line with the above, the “investor fear gauge”, the VIX volatility index increased by 3.6% this morning, currently at 38.7, after closing at 34.2 on Friday. Elevated levels suggest continued near term equity market volatility.
Currency
Sterling has depreciated slightly to $1.24 this morning. The hedging benefit of US dollar denominated investors into the Eurozone has increased to 1.11%, over the same time period.
Oil
Brent Crude is down -3.1% this morning, currently priced at $25.62 a barrel. The Financial Times reports that the price of oil storage has increased by 30%.
Loan loss provisions
US and European banks are expected to book over $50 billion of provisions for bad loans in Q1 2020, the largest amount since the GFC, according to the Financial Times. In Europe, IFRS 9 requirements mean that banks have to book provisions earlier for bad loans, which take into account the full term of the loan.
Lockdown
More countries across Europe are starting to gradually ease their lockdowns this week, including Italy, Spain, Poland and Portugal. Meanwhile, in Japan, the state of emergency has been extended to the end of May.
Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics relating to Covid-19 on 4 May 2020.