Daily summary: nuclear threat from Russia triggers sell-off in Europe ✂️

Indices on Wall Street are gaining slightly towards the end of the session, despite a sell-off at the opening. The initial declines have been completely erased, and at the time of publication, the US500 is up 0.40%, the US100 is up 0.70%, and the US2000 is trading 0.30% higher.

The US100 has once again broken out from the support zone around 20,400 points and is currently up 0.30%. We observe impressive gains mainly in Tesla (+3.00%) and Nvidia (+2.10%). Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple are also slightly up (all by +0.70%). In the broader market, gains are also dominating in technology companies related to artificial intelligence and semiconductors, including C3.ai (+21%), Super Micro Computer (+32%), Indie Semiconductors (+8.50%), and BigBear.ai (+8.20%).

The dollar is gaining moderately, with the USDIDX index trading 0.10% higher at 106.3000 points. The strongest currency today is the Canadian dollar, which is gaining after the publication of higher-than-expected CPI data.

On the other side of the scale are European currencies, including the EUR, PLN, and HUF, which are losing value due to escalating tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border.

European indices are recording 1-2% declines as a result of escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The declines are related to Putin signing an updated nuclear doctrine.

This action taken by Russia is aimed against potential adversaries and military coalitions such as NATO. Nevertheless, there have also been concerns that potential long-range weapon attacks from Ukraine could be considered an excessive threat.

Inflation in Canada for October rose to 2.0% year-over-year (expected: 1.9% y/y; previous: 1.6% y/y), and monthly to 0.4% month-over-month (expected: 0.3% m/m; previous: -0.4% m/m). Investors are currently pricing in a 20% chance of a 50 basis point rate cut by the BoC in December, compared to 38% before the inflation data.

The U.S. real estate sector report for October came in worse than expected. Housing starts: 1.311 million vs. 1.334 million forecast and 1.353 million previously. Building permits: 1.416 million vs. 1.435 million forecast and 1.425 million previously.

Shares of Super Micro Computer are gaining 32% today after the company appointed BDO USA as its new auditor and submitted a plan to Nasdaq to regain compliance with listing requirements following delayed financial reports.

C3.ai is up 22% to $32.08 after the company announced expanded collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate the deployment of artificial intelligence for business customers on the Microsoft Azure platform.

The sentiment in the cryptocurrency market today is only positive for Bitcoin. The dominance of the largest cryptocurrency is deepening, with BTC gaining 3.65% and approaching to $94,000.

Today, there is a high probability that the price of Bitcoin will reach a new record closing level even above $93,000. So far, the highest daily close is $91,400, while the highest daily level is $93,385.