Stocks have had a bad start to the week. A new wave of COVID-19 infections flooding the country has shaken investor confidence in a rapid economic recovery from the ongoing pandemic.
Nerves in the stock market have also been shaken in the run-up to the presidential elections on November 3 and due to delays in the adoption of a new law to boost the economy.
President Donald Trump has touted the bull market in recent years as proof of his success at the White House, and indices have risen since the first shock sale in March as the government introduced further measures to combat the corona virus.
But only six days before election day, nervousness seems to have returned.
The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow were all down more than 2.5 percent in morning trading in the US. The European markets suffered a similar fate, as new lockdown measures became apparent on the other side of the Atlantic.
On Wednesday the Vix index, which measures market volatility, reached its highest level since June.
This is due to the fact that the number of Covid 19 cases in the US has been rising rapidly in recent weeks. More than 74,000 new cases were recorded on Tuesday as the total number of registered infections approaches the 9 million mark.
David Madden, a market analyst with CMC Markets, said today on the MarketWatch website that traders frequently study hospitalization figures as significant increases have often triggered the introduction of tighter restrictions.
“In 36 states, the hospitalization rate for coronavirus has increased by at least 5% in the last seven days,” he said.
The state of markets and investment could be a key issue for voters in Florida, a major swing state with 29 votes.
More than 20 percent of Floridians are over 65 years old, and a large proportion live from investments and pension funds. Previous election data has consistently shown that these older voters are more likely to participate in an election than younger voters.
The level of people’s investment on election day could ultimately be a key factor in pushing the already scarce election results even higher.
Trump’s handling of Covid-19 will be another key issue at the front door, as older people are more susceptible to its symptoms and have a greater risk of dying from the disease.
Some experts have hinted that Trump’s entire hopes for re-election depend on a victory in the Sunshine State.
Both Democratic and Republican campaigns have recognized the importance of the state and the importance of older voters. Trump hosted a rally in Orlando on Friday, and former Democratic President Barack Obama traveled to Miami on Saturday to celebrate the first day of early voting.
By October 23, more than 4.7 million Florida residents had already cast their votes, a number that exceeds the total number of votes cast for Trump in the 2016 state elections. This number represents approximately 33 percent of all registered voters in the state.
Polls indicate that the Democratic hopeful, Joe Biden, has a narrow lead over Trump in Florida. According to FiveThirtyEight’s Poll Tracker, the former vice president is on average only 3 percentage points ahead of Trump.
A recent survey conducted by the University of North Florida, which surveyed 863 registered likely voters in the state, shows that Trump Trump is only one point behind Biden, 47 percent to 48 percent each.
