Morning wrap (25.08.2021)

• US indices finished yesterday's session higher and reached new record highs. S&P 500 gained 0.15%, Nasdaq added 0.52%, Dow Jones moved 0.09% higher and Russell 2000 rallied 1.02%

• Stocks in Asia gained slightly. S&P/ASX 200 and Kospi added 0.2%, indices from China traded over 0.3% higher and Nikkei traded little changed

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

• US Vice President Harris said that pressure on Beijing needs to be increased

• Coronavirus situation in the Antipodean region is worsening. Australia's New South Wales reported 919 new cases today, a record number. New Zealand reported 63 new cases - the highest since April 6, 2020

• Citigroup considers offering bitcoin futures trading services to some of its institutional clients

• New Zealand's trade balance for July stood at -NZ$402 million (exp. +$NZ100 million)

• API report showed a 1.62 million barrel draw in the oil inventories (exp. -2.4 mb)

• Bitcoin trades near $48,000

• Commodities pull back. Declines can be spotted on the precious metals, industrial metals, oil and agricultural markets

• USD is the best performing major currency while CHF lags the most

Gold is pulling back after a failed attempt of breaking above the 200-session moving average (purple line). Price is currently testing the support zone at 50% retracement of the recent upward move. In case we see a break below this hurdle, the next major support to watch can be found at 61.8% retracement ($1,765 area). Source: xStation5