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Good morning. Europe’s virus outbreaks worsen again, Turkey finds energy, and Delivery Hero makes it to Germany’s benchmark. Here’s what’s moving markets.
Spikes
France reported its biggest increase in new coronavirus cases since early May, before the country emerged from an almost two-month lockdown. Spain, meanwhile, has re-emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe after recording the highest number of daily infections per million people in the continent over the course of this week. 3,715 new cases were reported on Wednesday, almost half of which were found in the vicinity of Madrid. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez — whose handling of the pandemic has been widely panned — is on vacation with his family and hasn’t come out to address the public.
The Next Trillion
Apple Inc. became the U.S.’s first company to reach a $2 trillion market cap late Wednesday, after its stock rose nearly 60% this year. For a frame of reference, this exceeds the total market cap of all stocks in Germany’s DAX 30, France’s CAC 40, or Switzerland’s SPI indexes. In December, Saudi Aramco’s valuation briefly reached $2 trillion, but has fallen back to $1.8 trillion since. Among U.S. companies, Apple is trailed by Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp., both of which have market caps under $1.7 trillion.
New Kid
Delivery Hero SE will replace defunct payments company Wirecard AG in Germany’s prestigious DAX benchmark on Monday, the index’s owner has announced. The stock has gained almost 50% since January, as lockdowns boosted demand for food delivery in its key markets. Joining the DAX could further propel the shares as tracker funds are forced to increase their weightings. Still, the Berlin-based firm’s addition may spark some controversy as it is yet to achieve a single profitable year, raising questions about the prudence of including it alongside established heavyweights such as Siemens AG and SAP SE.
Black Sea Bonanza
Turkey has discovered energy in the Black Sea, most likely natural gas, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Wednesday. The two spoke after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to deliver Turks “good news” on Friday that would usher in a new era for the nation.The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index also rose 3% after Erdogan spoke, while shares of refiner Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS, or Tupras, and petrochemical manufacturer Petkim Petrokimya Holding AS jumped 7.6% and 9.9% respectively.
Coming Up…
Asian stocks came under pressure Thursday after Federal Reserve minutes signaled tempered optimism about second-half growth and as Sino-American tensions simmered. European and U.S. futures are also pointing to a lower open. The morning’s earnings agenda features Dutch payments firm and lockdown winner Adyen NV, miner Antofagasta Plc and cement maker CRH Plc. In the afternoon, we’ll get quarterly earnings from e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., as well as weekly U.S. initial jobless claims.
