The Dow Jones along with the rest of the U.S. markets closed lower yesterday, wiping out potential gains in the earlier trading hours.
With the U.S. and China tensions heavily present this week, the Dow Jones along with the rest of the markets have stayed cautious observing what the future will hold for these two economic superpowers.
President Donald Trump has recently announced that he will conduct a press conference regarding China this Friday, May 29.
Following the POTUS announcement, the U.S. Treasury yields plunged in the process with its 10-year and 30-year Treasury notes at 0.671% and 1.437% respectively as of this writing.
What to expect in the POTUS press con?
The unexpected announcement from China yesterday to push through with the national security law over Hong Kong shook the U.S. as Hong Kong is one of their major trade partners.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a report to Congress this week declaring that Hong Kong was no longer autonomous from China. However, the sudden shift in Hong Kong’s status caused by China has jeopardized its favorable trade relationship with the U.S.
It is also possible that he will mention political opponent Joe Biden’s intentions with regard to spreading fake news sabotaging his chances of winning the upcoming elections.
China is on a massive disinformation campaign because they are desperate to have Sleepy Joe Biden win the presidential race so they can continue to rip-off the United States, as they have done for decades, until I came along!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2020
In addition, he might also talk about the current status of the Phase One trade deal with China amid the ongoing conflicts. The POTUS still believes that this trade deal can and will be seen as one of the highlights of his presidency, fulfilling a key campaign promise he declared in 2016.
As far as Dow Jones and the rest of Wall Street is concerned, investors are observing what impact will the markets receive amid the press conference.
Jobless claims surge to 40 million, next round of stimulus checks coming
In a report from CBS News, the U.S. jobless claims data for the week was over 2.1 million, exceeding 40 million since the coronavirus pandemic started.
In addition, Frances Stacy of Optimal Capital claims that the recent numbers as “positive” since the filings for unemployment was lesser compared to last week, dropping to 4 million. The drop could be an indication that the majority of the Americans are going back to work.
Meanwhile, Americans are expecting a second round of stimulus checks coming in since the announcement from Congress this month which contributed to the Dow Jones boost this second quarter.
Similar to the first round, the Democrats’ proposal would base the payments on past tax returns.
As the U.S. prepares for the last week of trading, investors at Wall Street shall see what the Dow Jones has in store as the recent turn of events would become a challenge for markets to go back up.
Featured image courtesy of Steinar Hovland/Pixabay