Morning wrap (01.03.2021)

• Stocks in Asia are trading higher. Nikkei gained 2.5%, S&P/ASX 200 added 1.7% and indices from China traded higher. Stock exchanges in South Korea were closed due to holiday

• DAX futures point to a higher opening of the European session

• US futures trade higher

• Biden urged the Senate to work quickly on a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan. Bill has passed in the House last week and is now awaiting final vote in the Senate

• One-shot coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson was approved by the US FDA

• Official China manufacturing PMI dropped from 51.3 to 50.6 in February (exp. 51.1) while services index declined from 52.4 to 51.4 (exp. 52.1).

• New Zealand put Auckland back into 7-day lockdown following local coronavirus outbreak

• RBA bought A$4 billion of long dated bonds today, double the normal amount. The move pushed Australian yields lower

• Iran rejected the offer of holding direct nuclear talks with the United States. Iran insists on some sanctions being lifted before negotiations begin

• Bitcoin trades near $45,000

• Oil, precious metals, agricultural good and industrial metals gain on upbeat risk moods and weak USD

• AUD, NZD and GBP are top performing major currencies while CHF, JPY and USD lag the most

Pandemic situation continues to improve as the vaccination process gathers pace. Approval for another vaccine is likely to speed it up further, especially as it is a one-shot vaccine. Source: worldometers, XTB