Morning wrap (26.04.2021)

• Stocks in Asia traded mostly higher at the beginning of a new week. Nikkei gained 0.4%, Kospi moved 0.7% higher and indices from China advanced. S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.1%

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

• The United States will send supplies for Covid-19 vaccines as well as medical and protective gear to India where the situation got out of control. Germany, France and the United Kingdom also offered to help

• According to New York Times, European Union will allow entry of vaccinated tourists from the United States this summer

• Bitcoin experienced some wild price swings. The cryptocurrency dropped below $47,000 before recovering to $52,000

• Almost 900 thousand new coronavirus cases were reported on Friday, April 23 - a new daily record. India has been responsible for around 40% of new global cases recently

• Democrat Senator Manchin said he would prefer a more targeted infrastructure package rather than broad and expensive Biden's proposal. Republicans proposed a smaller $800-900 billion infrastructure deal

• Precious metals and industrial metals advance. Oil trades lower

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

897.8 thousand new coronavirus cases were reported on Friday, April 23 - a new daily record. However, the situation in the United States and Europe is improving thanks to vaccine rollout. Around 40% of all cases in recent days were reported in India. Source: worldometers, XTB