Today’s Big Picture
As we head into the last weekend before the election, markets are getting spooked, with the U.S. once again hitting a record high for new daily cases yesterday. Equities in Asia finished trading today down across the board. For the week in full, Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.3% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended down 3.3%, and China’s Shanghai Composite moved 1.6% lower. Equities in Europe were mixed by mid-day trading, and U.S. futures point to a retreat when those markets open later this morning that, barring a strong reversal, will cap off one of the worst weeks for U.S. equities in months.
The catalyst behind this week’s latest sell-off was the continued climb in coronavirus cases and subsequent restrictions that are clouding…