The US dollar is recording some modest gains over other major currencies during early Monday trading, reversing some of the losses suffered on Friday in the aftermath of a weaker than expected jobs report. However, the disappointment of Friday has in the meantime been replaced by a realistic stance that is once again supporting the greenback, reflecting the fact that despite the number of new jobs falling short of the expectations, growth prospects for the US remain more encouraging than for other leading economies, especially as the approval of President Biden’s stimulus package by the senate is becoming increasingly likely.
Brent has reached the threshold of $60 for the first time in more than a year with a mix of elements behind oil’s rally. First of all, expectation for a quick and full economic recovery of (albeit perhaps a little overly optimistic). Secondly, investors are expecting new economic stimulus measures from the US Government. The optimism we are seeing in stock markets, dominated by a remarkable risk on scenario, is pulling up oil with WTI also just reaching a 13-month-high. From a technical point of view, nothing has changed yet and investors are still betting on further rebounds for both of the main oil benchmarks.
Carlo Alberto De Casa – Chief analyst, ActivTrades
EUROPEAN SHARES
Stock markets traded higher from Tokyo to Milan on Monday amid global reflation and vaccine roll-out. Investors’ risk appetite was on the rise at this morning’s market open amid reassuring data on the virus front with infection rates losing momentum in several hotspots (like the US and Europe). Moreover, most investors are also reassured by the likelihood of a global economic response, with governments planning for more fiscal and monetary stimulus to get their economies back to their long-term trend and erase the negative impact of the pandemic. This positive trend is likely to continue this week, as risk aversion keeps on decreasing, even if volatility spikes brought by macro data and corporate results may still impact prices in the very short-term.
The best performance comes from Milan this morning after the FTSE-MIB Index opened above the 23,300 level, challenging the upper band of its mid-term bullish channel, with prices boosted by Mario Draghi’s plans for a new Italian Government.
Pierre Veyret– Technical analyst, ActivTrades
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Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
