Morning wrap (18.08.2021)

• US indices finished yesterday's trading lower. S&P 500 dropped 0.71%, Dow Jones moved 0.79% lower and Nasdaq dropped 0.93%. Russell 2000 dropped 1.19%

• Stocks in Asia traded higher today. Nikkei gained 0.7%, Kospi added 0.9% and indices from China traded over 0.5% higher each. S&P/ASX 200 traded flat

• DAX futures point to a flat opening of the European session

• The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left interest rates unchanged at today's meeting. Markets were certain that RBNZ will hike rates at the beginning of a week but new lockdown has prompted central bankers to stay on hold

• Powell said that it is uncertain whether Delta variant outbreak will hamper economic recovery. Fed Chair also said that the US central bank is in a process of putting away emergency tools

• Fed Kashkari said that late-2021 or early-2022 would be a good time to begin QE taper

• Japanese core machinery orders declined 1.5% MoM in June (exp. +3% MoM)

• API report pointed to a 1.16 million barrel draw in oil inventories (exp. -1.2 mb)

• Bitcoin trades near $45,000 mark

• Precious metals, oil and industrial metals gain. Agricultural commodities drop

• AUD and NZD are the best performing major currencies while JPY and USD are top laggards

Gold climbs on USD weakness and tests resistance zone marked with the 50% retracement of the upward impulse launched in March 2021. The 50-session moving average (green line) can be found in the same area. Source: xStation5