- US major indices shrug off the weaker jobs data
- US lawmakers resume stimulus talks
- OPEC+ agrees to gradual output hike
European indices finished today's session higher with DAX 30 adding 0.2% to 13,282, helped by upbeat German factory orders data. CAC 40 rose 0.61% and FTSE 100 finished 0.90% higher. Meanwhile news about Poland showing willingness to find a solution that would allow an agreement to be reached on the EU's €1.8 trillion stimulus package turned out to be short-lived. A deputy Polish prime minister appeared to suggest Thursday that Poland was willing to compromise, words that some understood as Poland softening its position. But a deputy foreign minister told The Associated Press on Friday that Poland’s position remains as it has been from the beginning. The deadline for the European Parliament and member states to reach an agreement on the annual budget is December 7th. On the Brexit front, EU official announced a deal was closer than ever but a UK government source warned chances for a breakthrough in the next few days were receding.
Wall Street's main indexes jumped to all-time highs on Friday despite weak NFP report which showed that US economy added only 245,000 jobs in November. That’s well below analysts' consensus estimate of 469,000. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 6.9%. However, some investors consider disappointing NFP number as a positive because it could put additional pressure on politicians to move forward with stimulus negotiations. US House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell resumed phone talks on Thursday. Today Pelosi said “there is momentum” toward a coronavirus stimulus deal. Lawmakers also face a Dec. 11 deadline to pass a $1.4 trillion budget or risk a shutdown of the government. Meanwhile the number of COVID-19 infections continues to accelerate sharply. Yesterday US reported record numbers of new daily infections, single-day deaths and hospitalizations. Today US Food and Drug Administration's chief said he had a "robust discussion" with the White House this week about the timeline for COVID-19 vaccine approvals and believes vaccinating 20 million Americans this year is realistic. Yesterday Dow Jones reported, that Pfizer expects to ship half of the Covid-19 vaccines it originally planned for this year due to supply-chain problems. However company is still planning to roll out 1.3 billion vaccines next year and the 50 million dose shortfall this year will be covered as production ramps up, the report said.
US crude cut some of the early gains and is trading 0.5% higher at $45.89 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract rose over 0.5% to $48.95. OPEC+ agreed to raise crude output by only 500,000 barrels a day in January, far below the 2 million barrels a day initially proposed. Delegates failed to reach an agreement regarding broader policy for the rest of next year. Ministers will now hold monthly consultations to determine how to adjust production in subsequent months.Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.25% to $1,837.00/oz, while silver rose 0.2% to $24.10.
Silver – price has been trading in a local sideways move since Wednesday. Commodity is struggling to break above the 50 SMA (green line) which also coincides with lower limit of the earlier broken triangle pattern. Should buyers fail to break above it, a near-term support at $22.15 could be at risk. Source: xStation5
