Global stocks are mixed as investors weigh COVID-19 deaths topping 500,000, and markets are hit with a 'nervous calm'

• Global stocks were mixed on Monday, driven by rising concerns over worldwide Covid-19 deaths crossing half a million this weekend.
• US stocks pointed to choppy trading as futures wavered between gains and losses in pre-market trading. Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of around 6.45 a.m. ET.
• Investors have been inconsistent in their approach to a likelihood of a second-wave, "veering between outright distress, nervous calm and fingers-in-ears positivity, sort of on a whim," a financial analyst said.
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Global stocks were mixed on Monday as investors weighed the impact of global coronavirus deaths crossing the half-million mark over the weekend.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 hesitated between gains and losses before ticking up 0.2% as of around 6.45 a.m. ET.

Case counts around the world have surpassed 10 million, with around 1 million new cases per week, according to the World Health Organization.

Those figures are likely much higher in reality due to reporting discrepancies from nation to nation, according to Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx.

Investor sentiment in the US was likely swayed by a reversal of recently announced reopening plans in the worst-hit states of Florida and Texas.

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The US accounts for around a quarter of both totals, Campbell noted, with the country regularly hitting record one-day case increases en route to 2.5 million known infections and over 125,000 deaths.

"Investors have been inconsistent in how they've approached the likelihood of a potential second wave, veering between outright distress, nervous calm and fingers-in-ears positivity, sort of on a whim," Campbell said.

Internationally, virus infections continue to rise in tense environments.

Rabobank analysts tell us:

• In the UK, a government scientific advisor said things nationally are on a "knife edge" with a spike in new infections expected by July.
• In Germany, an internal quarantine has been imposed for domestic travellers in the state of Bavaria.
• Brazil had its worst week yet with over 255,000 new cases.
• The healthcare system in India's capital, New Delhi, is on the brink of collapse.
• Meanwhile, Israel faces a second-wave after its hasty decision to reopen schools.

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Here's the market roundup as of 11.25 a.m in London (6.25 a.m. ET):

• Asian indexes were down with China's Shanghai Composite down 0.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 1%, and Japan's Nikkei down 2.3%.
• European equities were up a little, with Germany's DAX up 0.4%, Britain's FTSE 100 up 0.3%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.2%.
• US stocks are set to open mixed. Futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%.
• Oil prices rose, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.2% at $38.54, and Brent crude up 0.1% at $40.95.
• The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 0.64%.
• Gold fell 0.2% to $1,783 per ounce.

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