- The strong rally in U.S. and Eurozone stock indices continued yesterday, with the three major U.S. indices closing at new record highs, as did the DAX 30 in Europe. Stocks were boosted by stronger than anticipated U.S. inflation data which came in at an annualized 2.6% (monthly 0.6%) increase, suggesting the U.S. economy is growing strongly.
- Bitcoin made a bullish breakout yesterday to trade well into a new record high price, peaking above $64,500 per coin.
- The Forex market is seeing a weak U.S. dollar, with the euro looking like the strongest major currency today.
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s monthly rate statement contained no surprises or meaningful policy changes. The Kiwi rose against the U.S. dollar in line with the general market move over recent hours.
- There will be a release of Australian employment data today.
- Yesterday’s 30-year U.S. treasury auction produced an implied yield of 2.32%.
- The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine has been suspended in the U.S., E.U., and South Africa on fears that it may cause blot clots.
- New coronavirus cases are rising globally for the seventh consecutive week, and deaths also increased last week for the fourth week running after falling for months, signifying a rebound in the pandemic in areas where vaccinations are relatively absent. The increase is especially pronounced in Latin America (accounting for 43% of deaths) and Europe (accounting for 31% of deaths). The situation is particularly bad in Brazil which saw a record number of daily coronavirus deaths at the end of last week – more than 4,000.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 138 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.15%.
- The fastest progression in terms of immunizing a population against the coronavirus in all but the smallest states has been in Israel, which has given at least one shot to 62% of its entire population followed by the U.K. at 47%. For most of the world, a vaccine remains distant. Progress remains slow in the hard-hit European Union with only two member states (Hungary and Finland) having yet immunized more than 20%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Germany, Guatemala, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kuwait, Lithuania, Mali, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uruguay.