Investors worried about the impact of coronavirus on the global economy may soon be faced with another problem for corporate earnings: a stronger dollar.

The U.S. currency has continued to climb since the number of coronavirus cases started to soar in China last month, propelling the WSJ Dollar Index to its highest level since early October. While many analysts fear that turbulence in the Chinese economy will affect global growth, investors have clung to American assets, helping to rebound the S&P 500 after plummeting in late January and climbing back up last week to establish a new record.closevolume_off

Although the main indices and the dollar have risen in parallel, US companies like Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Ford and 3M discussed the negative effects of currency fluctuation during their earnings conference calls, pointing to a possible recovery. because of the upward trend that lasts in the markets. With a strong dollar, it becomes more expensive for companies to repatriate turnover achieved abroad and export products are less competitive abroad.

Corporate profits for the S&P 500 for the fourth quarter promise to be stable compared to the same period last year, confirming a trend observed earlier in 2019. Weak global growth combined with a strong dollar increases the chances that results are still disappointing this year. Any impact …