Markets around the world are rising as Florida missed the worst of Irma this weekend, and as North Korea’s founding celebration, which took place Saturday, did not include a missile test, Reuters reports.
Irma hit the Florida keys Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane, then came into Miami, damaging several buildings and creating a storm surge that caused flooding in the downtown area of the city, The Wall Street Journal reports. The full extent of the damage remains unknown, as many of the hardest-hit areas are still inaccessible. The Journal points out that the National Weather Service expects severe conditions to persist in central and western Florida.
Irma continues to lose strength, The Washington Post notes. By Tuesday, experts expect it to weaken to a tropical depression. But, the storm remains capable of producing hurricane-force gusts, and will likely create a “life-threatening” storm surge, cautions the National Hurricane Center. A storm surge warning is in effect across much of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
The Post cites a National Weather Service tweet that says Irma’s storm surge produced record flooding in downtown Jacksonville Monday morning.
Nonetheless, Floridians caught something of a break over the weekend. On Friday, the Journal says, some models projected that the storm would hit Miami and east coast Florida head-on—instead, the storm turned toward the gulf coast.
“For now, we’re seeing a bit of a relief rally [in the market]. It does appear that the worst-case scenario for Florida has been evaded,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York, per Reuters.
Meanwhile, North Korea tested no missiles over the weekend, though, according to the New York Times, leaders did hold a massive gala for the country’s nuclear scientists Saturday, in conjunction with national anniversary celebrations.
Last Sunday, North Korea successfully detonated its sixth nuclear bomb.
The MSCI AC World Equity Index, MIWD00000PUS, which tracks 2,400 stocks in 47 countries, according to Reuters, surged to a new high Monday morning, and as of 1:27 Eastern Monday. DXY, an index that compares the U.S. dollar to six other currencies, has jumped 33 cents (0.36 percent) since 11:59 p.m. Sunday. DXY is recovering after having hit a two-and-a-half-year low Friday.
Meanwhile, stock markets in Tokyo had their best session since June, according to Reuters. Relief about the situation in North Korea, as well as a weakening yen, spurred the surge.
In the U.S., shares are up one percent across Wall Street, Reuters says. As of 2:30 p.m. EST Monday, the DOW Jones Industrial Average has risen 260.19 points (1.19 percent) since it closed Friday. The S&P 500 has jumped 1.06 percent since Friday’s close, and now sits at 2487.67.
Demand for gold is falling, as investors are, according to Reuters, more inclined to assume risk given the relative stability of the U.S.’s relationship with North Korea and the relatively mild damage Irma wreaked upon Florida. As of 2:47 Eastern Monday, one troy ounce of gold is worth $1330.61, a decrease of $10.64 (0.8 percent).
Oil investments are falling out of favor as well, as the market frets over Irma’s and Harvey’s impacts on the supply of oil in the U.S., which Reuters says consumes more oil than any other nation.
“Brent crude oil futures for November delivery LCOc1 were down 66 cents [1.23 percent] at $53.12 a barrel, while benchmark U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 declined by 33 cents [0.7 percent] to $47.15,” Reuters writes.
Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group in Minneapolis, said that a weaker dollar, along with lower interest rates, will provide more fuel to the U.S. economy in the near future.
“We are massively stimulating this economy that’s already doing pretty well,” he said. “That’s likely to accelerate an already-good economy even further the next 12 months.”
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons
