Daily summary: US stocks slump further after Fed maintains rates

• European equities finished sharply lower
• Epic short squeeze continues
• Fed leaves interest rates unchanged
• Oil stockpiles plunge 9.9 million barrels: EIA

European indices finished today's session deeply in red after a series of negative news from Germany. Government reduced its 2021 economic growth forecast to 3% from 4.4% and the country will most likely maintain restrictions in coming weeks in order to contain the spread of the pandemic. Meanwhile the GfK consumer confidence for Germany fell to -15.6, the lowest level in 8 months. Euro fell sharply after an ECB official said the central bank has the necessary tools to act on Euro strength and could cut the interest rate further to keep inflation target. The British pound weakened as the UK government announced new Coivid-19 related restrictions. Meantime, the EU and AstraZeneca will continue talks on vaccine shipments, following some confusion after it was reported that the drug manufacturer canceled the meeting DAX 30 fell 1.6%, CAC40 dropped 1.16% and FTSE 100 finished 1.3% lower.

Major US indices are trading  approximately 2% lower as investors brace themselves for more big-tech earnings reports later in the day. Boeing shares plunged 4% after company announced disappointing quarterly results and record net loss in 2020. Meanwhile,  AT&T, Microsoft, Starbucks and Advanced Micro Devices posted better than expected figures. GameStop Corp and movie theater operator AMC Entertainment stocks each more than doubled as retail investors again piled into the stocks, forcing short-sellers such as Citron to abandon their losing bets. But those are not the only stocks  soaring on Wednesday. BlackBerry jumped more than 20%, Bed Bath & Beyond surged nearly 30% while Ligand Pharmaceuticals rose 10%, all seemingly part of a short squeeze pitting professional and retail traders against each other. Apple, Facebook and Tesla will report after the closing bell.

Fed left interest rate unchanged at 0-0.25% during its first 2021 meeting, as widely expected. The QE program was also maintained at $ 80 billion of Treasuries and $ 40 billion of Mortgage-Backed Securities. The pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in recent months and that the path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus, including progress on vaccinations. FED is committed to use its full range of tools in order to back the US economy in this challenging time.

US crude futures are trading flat around $52.60 per barrel, while Brent contract fell 0.60% below $ 56.00 per barrel. EIA report showed US crude oil inventories decreased by 9.91 million barrels, the biggest decline since July and compared to analysts' expectations of a 0.43 million advance. Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.50% to $ 1,841.00 / oz, while silver is trading 1.18%  lower around $ 25.14 / oz. Bitcoin is testing support at $30,000.

Bitcoin is testing the lower limit of the triangle pattern  which lies at the psychological $30,000 level which is additionally strengthened by 50 SMA ( green line). In case a break below occurs, the downward move may accelerate towards support at $24,000. However if bulls will manage to halt declines, then another upward impulse could be launched. Source: xStation5