New York, Oct 2 (AFP/APP):News that US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania had tested positive for the coronavirus rocked global markets, stoking uncertainty in the world’s biggest economy just one month before Americans go to the polls. Confirmation of the positive test overnight first hit Asian bourses, setting up Europe for a weak start, which was confirmed when Wall Street followed suit and opened about one percent lower. Investors then trimmed their losses, with the Dow ending the day lower just 0.5 percent, taking the view that, at this stage, there was no reason to panic — although that could change given the huge potential implications of a president falling ill weeks ahead of the November 3 election. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare said the initial “knee-jerk sell-off makes sense” given no one knows how the president’s diagnosis will affect the vote or a pending contested Supreme Court nomination. The fact that the market stabilized after the initial fall shows investors were not “catastrophizing” the possible outcomes, O’Hare said. Upbeat comments from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding ongoing talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on a long-delayed stimulus package for the battered US economy also lifted traders’ hopes. However … Continue reading Trump coronavirus positive rocks stock markets