The US president announced he and Melania had tested positive for coronavirus in a tweet. Mr Trump posted: “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” It comes after one of Mr Trump’s top advisers also tested positive for the virus on Thursday night. Hope Hicks was the closest aide to the president to test positive for the virus so far.
Futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 slid 1.21 percent by early afternoon in Asia, while Treasury yields also fell.
The US dollar rose, particularly against the British pound, the Australian and New Zealand dollars in a sign of risk aversion.
Trump’s positive could cause a new wave of market volatility as investors brace for the hotly-contested presidential election in November.
“It has the potential to reduce Trump’s campaigning ability. He’s got a lot on and it’s an interruption,” said Sean Callow, currency strategist at Westpac in Sydney.
“It also hurts him as far as the whole narrative that it’s really not much to worry about – it puts the COVID crisis itself back front and centre.”
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