Morning wrap (16.10.2020)

• US indices finished yesterday's session lower but off the daily lows. S&P 500 closed 0.15% lower, Nasdaq declined 0.47% and Dow Jones slipped 0.07%. Russell 2000 gained 0.98%

• Bears dominate during the Asian session. Nikkei trades 0.3% lower, S&P/ASX 200 declines 0.5% and Kospi drops 1%. Indices from China trade mixed

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

• Almost 400 thousand new coronavirus cases were reported yesterday. Death toll has exceeded 1.1 million while total case count stands at 39.1 million. 29.3 million people recovered

• According to Financial Times, WHO study found out that Remdesivir has little impact on Covid mortality. In other news, Japanese Fujifilm is proceeding with getting approval for its coronavirus drug Avigan

• Mnuchin said that if he reaches deal with Pelosi, Trump will convince Senate Majority leader McConnell to back it

• Dutch Prime Minister Rutte said that United Kingdom needs to do more if it wants to reach a Brexit trade deal. Merkel said that progress was made but some issues remain

• According to Australian media, China has asked domestic companies to stop buying cotton from Australia

• Some Democrats working on Biden campaign contracted Covid-19. However, both Biden and Harris have tested negative

• EUR and JPY are top moving majors while AUD and NZD are top laggards. EM currencies trade lower against USD

• Oil is pulling back slightly after a very volatile trading yesterday

Another daily record has been set - almost 400 thousand new coronavirus cases. Source: worldometers, XTB