Covid-19 to remain the top concern for investors

WITH Covid-19 cases in Europe and the US still on the rise, investors are likely to remain unsettled by the outbreak which has been the main driver of sentiment in financial markets over the past month. Investors are still panicking as the disease threatens to engulf the West, while last week's monetary and fiscal stimulus measures by governments failed to lift confidence.

Last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1 per cent, the S&P 500 1.7 per cent and the Nasdaq shed 1.9 per cent. Wall Street's slide came despite stellar payrolls data for February, when the US economy added 273,000 jobs.

It was "no great surprise" to AxiCorp chief market strategist Stephen Innes that the strong showing did not cheer investors. "No one cared about payrolls with all eyes focused on the Covid-19 media reels," he said.