Stock Market Defies Doomsayers on ‘Real Positive’ Covid Trends
- Daily case counts, positivity rates, hospitalizations improve
- Data is providing cover amid a rising tide of equity risks
Healthcare workers wearing protective gear prepare to administer swab tests at a Covid-19 drive-thru testing site at Dallas College Eastfield Campus in Mesquite, Texas, on Aug. 18.
Photographer: Cooper Neill/BloombergIn just the past week, talks over a stimulus package stalled, bond yields jumped and an inflation gauge soared. The stock market, which is already trading at the highest levels relative to earnings in a generation, was unmoved. To explain it all, some investors point to data on the spread of Covid-19.
Daily case counts, positive test rates and hospitalizations look to be improving, as evidence grows that the peak of the virus flareup across Sunbelt states is in the past. At the same time, real-time U.S. economic data underscore a slow but steady recovery, comforting stock traders as the S&P 500 flirts with a fresh record yet again.