European stocks look set to open on a flat note Tuesday after strong gains the previous day on signs of progress in reopening economies.
The global death toll from the novel virus topped 210,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. As the U.S. death toll surpassed 55,000, President Donald Trump said that deaths in the country from the virus could reach as high as 70,000.
As some U.S. states and European countries moved gradually to ease their limits on movement and commerce, Brazil, Latin America’s biggest country, is emerging as potentially the next big hot spot for the coronavirus.
President Jair Bolsonaro insists that it is just a “little flu” and that there is no need for the sharp restrictions.
The head of the World Health Organization warned that the new pandemic was far from over and that he was concerned about increasing trends in Africa, eastern Europe, Latin America and some Asian countries.
Consumer confidence survey data from France is due later in the session, headlining a light day for the European economic news.
Across the Atlantic, a report on consumer confidence as well as earnings updates from the likes of 3M, Caterpillar, Merck, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Southwest Airlines and UPS may attract some attention.
U.S. stocks posted strong gains overnight after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans for a phased reopening of his state’s economy, citing a steady decline in coronavirus hospitalization rates.
Other states, including several led by Republican governors, also moved to reopen their economies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 added 1.5 percent to reach their best closing levels in well over a month.
European markets rallied on Monday as more countries in the continent announced plans to relax lockdown restrictions and the Bank of Japan expanded its monetary stimulus for the second straight month.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 1.8 percent. The German DAX jumped 3.1 percent, France’s CAC 40 index surged 2.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 1.6 percent.
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