- Friday saw the benchmark broad U.S. stock market index, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ 100 tech index, close at all-time highs. These indices are likely to rise further over the coming days. Global stock markets are notably less bullish.
- In the Forex market, the USD is clearly the strongest major currency, while the Japanese yen looks to be the weakest.
- The US non-farm payrolls data released Friday showed that 850k new jobs were created last month, while the consensus forecast was 725k. Expectations were exceeded.
- OPEC are meeting today ahead of a disagreement between members over production quotas. Any agreement reached later today could have an impact on the price of crude oil. WTI Crude Oil is holding up above $75 just below a the multi-year high it made a few days ago.
- It is a major public holiday in the USA today. Markets there will be closed.
- Last week saw a second consecutive weekly rise in global new confirmed coronavirus cases, suggesting that the pandemic is advancing again due to the spread of the more highly infectious Delta (Indian) variant. There is increasing concern over this in some countries, notably Australia which has begun a partial lockdown as local transmission seems to be beginning.
- It is estimated that 24% of the world’s population has received at least one vaccination against the novel coronavirus.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 184.6 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.16%.
- The fastest progression in terms of immunizing a population against the coronavirus in all but the smallest states has been in Iceland, Malta, Bermuda, Kuwait, Bhutan, Israel, Chile, Uruguay, and Canada, which have given at least one shot to between 76% and 63% of their respective populations. Malta is an especially interesting case as it has vaccinated more than 80% of its population and should therefore have full herd immunity by most expert estimations, although it registered 12 new cases today. For most of the world, a vaccine still remains distant. However, the pace of vaccination in the European Union, which now has immunized 52% of its population, has picked up significantly. In the U.S., 54% of the population has been vaccinated.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Algeria, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Cuba, Cyprus, Fiji, Finland, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and the United Kingdom (despite its high level of vaccination).
Forex Today: U.S. Stocks End Week at Record High
Adam Lemon
The U.S. dollar and stock market continue to advance firmly with strong long-term momentum.