Markets mixed, hospitals stretched as COVID-19 surges

Markets were mixed on Thursday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent. However, the STOXX Europe 600 dipped 0.1 percent and the Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 percent.

US stocks rose amid renewed hopes for a fiscal stimulus after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats and the Trump administration were on the verge of an agreement.

Still, the COVID-19 situation in the US remains dire as several US states reported record single-day increases in infections on Thursday and hospitals became increasingly stretched.

In Europe, France extended curfews to around two thirds of its population on Thursday. “We are already swamped,” said Bruno Megarbane, head of intensive care at the Lariboisiere hospital in Paris.

In Spain, which this week became the first European country to pass 1 million cases, Health Minister Salvador Illa said the epidemic was now “out of control” in many areas.