Morning wrap (07.01.2021)

• US indices finished yesterday's trading higher. S&P 500 gained 0.57%, Dow Jones added 1.44% and Russell 2000 rallied 3.98%. Nasdaq lagged and closed 0.61% lower

• Stocks in Asia are moving higher as well. S&P/ASX 200 and Nikkei rose 1.6% while Kospi jumped 2.5%. Indices from China traded mixed

• DAX futures point to a slightly higher opening of the European session

• Certification of the US elections was paused yesterday after pro-Trump supporters breached into the Capitol. Order has been restored and debates resumed

• US National Security Adviser O'Brien as well as his deputy Pottinger consider resigning after Trump failed to condemn violent protests

• Some lawmakers are once again preparing articles of impeachment against Trump. Media reported that cabinet members are considering using 25th Amendment (removal of President from office on the back of illness or inability to carry duty)

• Twitter and Facebook suspended Trump's social media accounts

• Democrats won both seats in Georgia Senate run-off

• FOMC minutes release turned out to be a non-event and did not signal any near-term changes to monetary policy

• Japan is expected to announce state of emergency in Tokyo today

• Bitcoin jumped above $37,000 during the night. Capitalization of the cryptocurrency markets topped $1 trillion

• WTI jumped above $51 a barrel. Precious metals gained

• USD and CAD are top performing major currencies while AUD and JPY lag the most

A record 781 thousand new coronavirus cases were reported yesterday. Source: worldometers, XTB