- Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine has 95% efficacy
- Major US indices are consolidating near their historical highs
- US Crude Inventories rise for 2nd week
European indices finished today's session mostly higher, boosted by takeover news and set of upbeat quarterly earnings from Ubisoft and Micro Focus International. Deutsche Boerse stock gained 2.9% after the German stock exchange operator announced that will acquire an 80% stake in corporate governance adviser Institutional Shareholder Services. Meanwhile Britain's RSA Insurance shares jumped 4.2% on news that company received a cash offer worth £7.2 billion from Canadian peer Intact Financial and Danish insurer Tryg. Meanwhile COVID-19 continues to surge across Europe. Total number of coronavirus infections in France surpassed 2-million and the UK reported the highest increase in daily COVID-19 fatalities since May. Both DAX 30 and CAC 40 gained around 0.5%, while FTSE 100 added 0.27%.
Major US indexes moved higher after Pfizer published an updated clinical trial results of its coronavirus vaccine. The company said the vaccine is 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 and will shortly apply for emergency US authorization. This result is slightly better than the one reported by Moderna. Nevertheless, this information caused only slight increases in the main indexes. Dow Jones rose 0.11%, S&P 500 added 0.15% and Nasdaq is trading 0.26% higher. It seems that major indices are consolidating near their record highs which may indicate a downward correction in the near future, especially taking into consideration worsening pandemic situation. The US recorded 161.9K new cases on Tuesday, the third highest daily rate since the pandemic started and 1.7K fatalities, the most since May, according to Johns Hopkins data.
US crude futures are trading 1.4% higher while the international benchmark Brent contract rose over 1.9% as hopes that OPEC+ will delay a planned increase in oil output and news regarding coronavirus vaccine overshadowed a build in US crude oil stockpiles. EIA data showed inventories rose by 0.768 million barrels below market expectations of a 1.65 million advance. Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.10% and are trading around $1,880 / oz, while silver futures rose 0.25%.
Silver – recently bulls struggle to break above $25.00 resistance level. Currently price is approaching the lower limit of the triangle pattern. In case a break below occurs, the downward move may accelerate towards $22.15. Source: xStation5
