Economic calendar: Biden's address, speeches from Powell and Macklem

• European indices launch trading higher

• Speeches from Powell and Macklem

• Biden to deliver State of the Union address overnight

European stock market indices launched today's trading slightly higher, with most of the major indices from the Old Continent trading 0.2-0.3% higher in the first minutes of trade. DAX launched the day with a 0.1% bullish price gap. However, those gains were quickly erased. AUD outperforms other G10 currencies after an in-line RBA hike and a pledge of more hikes in the future. Precious metals benefit from USD weakness. Energy commodities trade mixed - oil gains while natural gas pull back.

Economic calendar for today is light, at least when it comes to data releases. Traders will be offered trade balance data from Canada and the United States in the early afternoon, followed by a regular weekly API report on US oil inventories. However, there are a lot of speeches from members of major central banks scheduled for today and those may be a source of additional volatility on the markets. Most awaited speeches will come from Fed Chair Powell (5:00 pm GMT) and BoC Governor Macklem (5:30 pm GMT). Last but not least, US President Biden is set to deliver his annual State of the Union address the coming night (2:00 am GMT).

1:30 pm GMT - Canada, trade balance for December. Expected: -C$1.0 billion. Previous: -C$0.04 billion

1:30 pm GMT - US, trade balance for December. Expected: -$68.5 billion. Previous: -$61.5 billion

9:40 pm GMT - API report on US oil inventories. Expected: +2.1 mb. Previous: +6.33 mb

Wednesday, 2:00 am GMT - US President Biden delivers State of the Union address

Central bankers' speeches

• 9:00 am GMT - BoE Ramsden

• 10:00 am GMT - ECB Villeroy

• 10:15 am GMT - BoE Pill

• 3:00 pm GMT - BoE Cunliffe

• 5:00 pm GMT - Fed Chair Powell

• 5:00 pm GMT - ECB Schnabel

• 5:30 pm GMT - BoC Governor Macklem

• 7:00 pm GMT - Fed Barr

Top US earning reports

• Hertz Global (HTZ1.US) - before market open

• Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL.US) - before market open

• Paycom Software (PAYC.US) - after market close

• Western Union (WU.US) - after market close