Daily summary: US100 rises to record high despite Delta Plus variant concerns

• Delta variant weighs on market sentiment
• European stocks start week on sour note
• US100 hits new all-time high

The COVID-19 topiC has returned to the markets again and spoiled the mood on European stock exchanges. The Delta variant, which has been present in Great Britain for some time, is starting to appear also in other EU countries. It is true that today's sell-off was not a major one, but the recent upward movement has slowed down and most European stock indices closed today in red. The DAX lost 0.34%, the FTSE100 fell 0.88% and the CAC40 closed 0.98% lower. As for the US indices, the Nasdaq again hit a new record, while the Dow Jones has slightly declined, so one can see that capital is flowing to the tech sector.

Looking at the Forex market, the antipode currencies are performing poorly today, with both the AUD and NZD losing more than 0.3% to the US dollar. CAD and CHF fell as well, while EUR lost 0.1%. By contrast, the British pound rose 0.1% against the USD and JPY gained 0.2%.

Precious metals, on the other hand, saw a fairly quiet session. In the evening hours, gold is trading flat, while silver gains 0.2%. Slightly more volatility occurred in the crude oil market. Both WTI and Brent fell more than 1.5%. 

Nasdaq (US100) hit new records today (which has happened quite often lately). Currently, the next target for market bulls is located around 14,772 pts and is marked with the 161.8% Fibonacci retracement of the recent downward wave. Meanwhile the lower limit of the ascending channel acts as nearest support. Another noteworthy support is located at 14170 pts and is marked with the lower limit of the 1:1 structure. Source: xStation5