Daily summary: US stocks wobble. Bitcoin correction deepens

• Downbeat moods in Europe
• S&P and Nasdaq erased early losses
• Cryptocurrencies under selling pressure

European finished today's session lower due to poor performance of oil and mining stocks and Covid-19 concerns. Belgium has reimposed work-from-home mandates and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is holding talks with regional leaders regarding the introduction of new restrictions due to the rising number of cases. The Czech government also approved restrictions for unvaccinated people, Austria is preparing for a general lockdown and Hungary expanded a mask mandate to indoor spaces. On the policy side, ECB Board Member Isabel Schnabel said the central bank must be careful to consider inflation risks in both directions when it sets monetary policy. 

Mixed moods prevail on Wall Street, where both S&P and Nasdaq erased early losses and approached record high thanks to solid performance of technology and retailers' shares. World's biggest chipmaker Nvidia stock jumped 10% and Macy's skyrocketed 20% after both companies posted upbeat quarterly figures. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones fell slightly dragged down by Cisco which reported disappointing revenue results and weaker guidance, while Alibaba missed revenue and earnings expectations. On the data front, initial filings for unemployment insurance fell slightly to 268k which is the lowest level since March 2020, and the seventh straight weekly decline. However today's reading came in above market expectations of 260k. 

WTI crude price gained over 1.7% and Brent crude futures rose more than 1.80% as traders continue to digest reports the US was asking other major oil consumers like China, India, Japan and South Korea to consider a coordinated release of oil reserves to bring prices down. Elsewhere gold price fell nearly 0.50% below $1,860 an ounce and silver lost 1% and is trading above $24.80 amid weaker dollar. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note steadied around 1.58% on Thursday after touching a 3-week high of 1.649% the day before, as traders took a breath after solid economic data strengthened the case for a tighter Fed policy. The downward movement on the cryptocurrency market accelerated during today's session. Bitcoin is currently testing $ 57,800 level, while Ethereum is trading above $ 4,000.

GBPUSD pair bounced off the 200 SMA (red line) and 100 EMA (purple line) earlier in the session and is currently testing major resistance at 1.35 which coincides with long-term downward trendline and upper limit of the ascending channel. Should a break higher occur, an upward move may accelerate towards the next resistance at 1.3572. Source: xStation5