The number of people infected with the Covid-19 around the world rose above the 1 million mark on Friday, of which at least 58 thousand died and over 227 thousand have recovered. In the US, the most affected country in the world, the number of infections surpassed 270,000. Across the Atlantic, Italy remains the most affected country recording 119,827 infections, followed by Spain (119,199) and Germany (91,159). Meanwhile, the rate of new cases in China, where the outbreak began, has been stabilizing. Italy is the country with more deaths caused by the virus with 14,681, followed by Spain 11,198 and the US 7,028.

The ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI for the US fell to 52.5 in March of 2020 from 57.3 in the previous month and beating market forecasts of 44. Still, the figures pointed to the weakest expansion in the services sector since August of 2016 and the largest monthly drop in the headline PMI since September of 1997 mainly due to supply problems related to the coronavirus. Declines were seen for business activity (48 from 57.8), employment (47 from 55.6), inventories (41.5 from 53.9) and new export orders (45.9 from 55.6) while new orders (52.9 from 63.1) and supplier deliveries (62.1 from 52.4) grew less. Also, prices were nearly unchanged (50 from 50.8). Respondents are concerned about the coronavirus impact on the supply chain, operational capacity, human resources and finances, as well as the ramifications for the overall economy, Anthony Nieves, ISM Chair said.

The dollar index rose 0.5% to 100.6 against a basket of currencies on Friday, extending gains for the third straight session as investors turned to safe haven currencies amid concerns over the economic impact of the global coronavirus pandemic. The dollar shrugged off the latest employment report that showed the US economy shed 701K jobs last month, after 113 consecutive months of employment growth, while the jobless rate rose to an over two-year high of 4.4 percent as the Covid-19 crisis hit the economy. For the week, the dollar increased 2.3%.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX dropped 160 points, or 1.2% to 12,938 on Friday, as fears of a deep global recession amid the coronavirus pandemic overshadowed a rebound in oil prices. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Freeland said this is a critical week to fight the coronavirus, as the country’s death toll reached 173 and the number of infections surpassed 11,700. Still, the S&P/TSX gained 2% for the week.

Brazil’s Bovespa index plunged 4.9% to 69,322 on Friday, as a grim employment report in the US raised concerns over a global recession. Back in Brazil, Covid-19 cases jumped to 8229, while the death toll climbed to 343, with the lethality rate jumping to 4.2%. On the macro front, Brazil´s Business Activity index fell 16 points to hit 34.5 in March, dropping the most since polling began in 2007. Still, Petrobras outperformed for the second session due to surging oil prices on expectations of production costs. CEO Roberto Castello Branco said that fuel demand in Brazil has dropped between 50 and 60% since the beginning of the pandemic. The Bovespa index closed 5.6% lower in the week.

Wall Street closed in the red on Friday to end another volatile session, as coronavirus concerns mounted after a grim employment report. On Friday, latest data showed the US economy shed 701K jobs in March, much worse than forecasts of 100K while the jobless rate went up to 4.4%, raising concerns of a global recession. Meanwhile, managing director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva said in a press conference that the Covid-19 outbreak is “way worse than the global financial crisis”. The Dow Jones lost 361 points or 1.7% to 21053; the S&P 500 fell 38 points or 1.5% to 2489; and the Nasdaq shed 114 points or 1.5% to 7373. For the week, the Dow Jones fell 3.5%; the S&P 500 lost 3.1% and the Nasdaq was down 2.8%.

The US unemployment rate jumped to 4.4 percent in March 2020, the highest since August 2017 and well above market expectations of 3.8 percent, as the Covid-19 crisis threw millions out of work. The number of unemployed increased by 1.35 million to 7.14 million, while the number of employed declined by 2.99 million to 155.77 million. The numbers are expected to get even worse in April as the government surveyed businesses and households for the report in mid-March, before majority of people was under some form of a lockdown.

Oil prices rallied on Friday, after posting its best day ever on Thursday amid hopes of a global supply cut of about 10 million barrels per day after OPEC+ announced a virtual meeting scheduled for Monday. Meantime, Russian President Putin said that Moscow was worried about the energy situation and wants join action on the oil markets. WTI crude jumped 11.9% to settle at $28.34 per barrel, while Brent rose 13.9% to settle at $34.11 per barrel. For the week WTI increased 31.8%, its best week on record back to the contract’s inception in 1983; while Brent crude went up 36.8%, also its biggest weekly gain in the contract's history.

The People's Bank of China announced it will cut the reserve requirement ratio for mid-sized and small banks by 100bps, in two phases, releasing around CNY 400 billion to support the economy hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic. The first cut of 50bps will be effective as of April 15th, and second cut of another 50bps will be effective as of May 15th. In addition, financial institutions' excess reserve requirement ratio with the central bank would be reduced to 0.35 percent from 0.72 percent, effective April 7th. Meanwhile, the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for large banks was kept at 12.5 percent.