Morning wrap (23.02.2021)

• US indices finished yesterday's trading mostly lower. S&P 500 dropped 0.77%, Nasdaq slumped 2.46% and Russell 2000 declined 0.69%. Dow Jones gained 0.09%

• Stocks in Asia traded mostly higher. S&P/ASX 200 gained almost 0.9%, Kospi dropped 0.1% and indices from China advanced. Exchanges in Japan were closed for holiday

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

• Japan considers lifting the state of emergency outside Tokyo. Requests to lift state of emergency were also filled by Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto

• Australia confirmed that the temporary job support scheme will expire by the end of March. However, Australian Prime Minister Morrison also announced that normal unemployment benefits will be increased by $50 per two weeks.

• Morgan Stanley sees oil market peak in Q3 2021 at $70 per barrel of Brent

• Total US coronavirus deaths exceeded 500 thousand

• Bitcoin has been trading lower throughout the Asian session and reached a low near $48,500. However, coin has managed to recover and trades above $50,000 again

• Oil gains with Brent trading above $65. Gold trades slightly higher on the day while other precious metals drop

• CAD and EUR are top performing major currencies while NZD and JPY lag the most.

A significant improvement in daily death numbers can be spotted recently. 7-day average dropped below 10,000. Source: worldometers, XTB