Daily summary: US stocks mixed despite upbeat earnings and data

• Mario Draghi to form new government in Italy
• Positive labour and services data from the US
• US crude inventories below expectations

European indices finished today's session  mostly higher on upbeat earnings reports and prospects of a faster vaccination rollout. Also numbers of new infections and fatalities are gradually falling due to lockdowns. Siemens lifted its annual forecast and Vodafone reported stronger sales for the 1st time since March. In Italy Mario Draghi, former ECB President, will become the new Prime Minister. Following two unsuccessful rounds, the Lower Chamber will have consultations again Thursday to form a technocratic government headed by Draghi. Meanwhile services PMI for the Eurozone and France were revised higher while that for Germany was reviewed slightly lower. Italian services PMI figures improved while those for Spain came in below analysts' forecasts. DAX 30 rose 0.6%, CAC 40 finished flat and FTSE 100 fell 0.14%

Meanwhile across the ocean, all three major US indexes are swinging between gains and losses as investors digest a set of upbeat quarterly reports. Amazon earnings nearly doubled forecasts but Jeff Bezos will no longer act as company CEO. Alphabet figures also came in above expectations mainly due to solid performance of the advertisement department and strength in cloud computing. The retail-led short-squeeze trade in AMC Entertainment Holdings and GameStop resumed on signs the short sellers were increasing their bearish bets. Both stocks are up 20% today. Treasury Secretary Yellen  asked several regulators including the Fed and SEC to discuss recent volatility in financial markets. Meanwhile, the Senate voted 50-49 to begin debate on a budget resolution for the 2021 fiscal year that will allow Democrats to pass the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan without Republican votes. On the data front, ADP reported that private-sector employment rose by 174,000 last month, surpassing the 70,000 job gains expected. The ISM Services Index increased to 58.7 in January from 57.7 in the prior month, the highest reading since February 2019.

US crude futures are trading 1.7% higher at $55.72 per barrel, while Brent contract rose 1.8% above $ 58.50 per barrel. US crude oil inventories fell by 0.994 million barrels in the week ended January 29th 2021, compared to market forecasts of a 0.446 million barrels increase, according to the EIA report. The latest assessment by the OPEC+ pointed that oil inventories will drop to below a five-year average by June. Meantime, OPEC Joint Ministerial Committee made no recommendation to oil output policy beyond what was decided last month as expected. Elsewhere, gold futures fell slightly to $ 1,833.00 / oz, while silver is trading  0.50% higher near $ 26.80 / oz. Bitcoin is trading above $36,700 level.

AUDUSD pair is testing the upper limit of the descending channel. In case a break above occurs, the upward move may accelerate towards strong resistance at 0.7684 which also coincides with 200 SMA (red line) and 50 SMA (green line). On the other hand, if sellers managed to halt advances here, then another downward impulse towards support at 0.7567 could be launched. Source: xStation5