- Upbeat session in Europe
- Wall Street extends yesterday's upward move
- FDA grants emergency use authorization for Pfizer (PFE.US) COVID-19 pill
European indexes finished today's choppy session higher amid thin trading volumes. Early in the session moods were mixed amid the ongoing uncertainty about the impact of the omicron strain and new restrictions introduces in Portugal on the service sector for the holidays period, whilst France mulls extending vaccine mandate to workplaces. Meanwhile, ECB’s board member Isabel Schnaber said inflation will remain high for a certain period but it will ease through the course of 2022.
Upbeat moods prevail on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones climbing 0.65%, and both the S&P and the Nasdaq up over 0.70% supported by solid economic data. US economy expanded by an annualized 2.3% in Q3, above second estimates of 2.1% and consumer confidence improved more than expected in December while existing home sales rose for the third month in November. Among single stocks, Tesla stock rose over 5% after Elon Musk said in a podcast that he had reached his goal of selling 10% of his shares for tax reasons, while Pfizer stock rose over 2% after FDA granted emergency authorization to its Covid treatment pill, which is a major milestone that promises to revolutionize the fight against the virus.
When it comes to commodities markets both WTI and Brent prices jumped over 1.5% following a larger-than-expected draw in US crude inventories. Meanwhile, natural gas prices rose sharply in Europe after Russia curbed flows, forcing some countries to boost electricity imports and burn oil to meet demand. Elsewhere gold and silver rose 0.70% and 1.40% respectively amid weaker dollar. As for the cryptocurrency market, today's session did not bring much volatility. Bitcoin and Ethereum fell around 1%, but the vast majority of digital assets are gaining. Polkadot is the best performer, with increases of 8%.
NZDUSD pair managed to defend the support at 0.6700, which is marked with 127.2% external Fibonacci retracement of the recent upward wave. On the D1 interval, a double bottom formation has appeared, which may encourage the market bulls to be more active. The nearest resistance is located at 0.6865 and is marked with previous price reactions. Source: xStation5