Low yields on bonds and the general uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 is making gold more attractive as a safe haven.

Gold and Nasdaq are the two must-haves of 2020, although their rise may raise questions. The fractures in the world, in particular the great Sino-American schism, do not prevent indices from holding up, despite rising coronavirus activity.

Last night, Wall Street rose slightly, enough for the Nasdaq 100 to sign a new historical peak and for Apple to reach a 5th consecutive upward session. There is already talk of the $2 trillion mark for the brand. I remember that a kind of frenzy had seized our media for the symbolic passage of the $1000 billion... it was, almost to the day, barely 2 years ago.

Covid-19, societal and political disorder, technological and commercial warfare, unemployment, environmental countdown... The bad news is neutralized by the hundreds of billions of dollars injected by central banks and governments. They will not cure the deepest ills, but investors continue to believe that they will help close the economic wounds of the pandemic.

Today, Markit released the final PMI services for the month of July. With the exception of Italy, results were up overall, but below analysts' expectations. Italy rose to 51.6 from 46.4, Germany to 55.6 from 47.3 and France to 57.3 from 50.7. However, Chinese figures were down to 54.1 from 58.4 and Japan was still stuck below the 50 mark at 45.4.

The final July PMI indicators for the services sector (and Composite PMIs, which also include Manufacturing PMIs released Monday) will be released today for the United States. We also have in the U.S. the Trade Balance, the ISM Services PMI and the weekly Oil Inventories.