- US indices finished yesterday's session lower. The Dow Jones fell 0.1%, S&P 500 shed 0.2% and Nasdaq lost 0.4%.
- Mixed moods prevail in the Asian markets today. Nikkei fell 0.3%, Kospi added 1.7% and Hang Seng gained 1.6%. S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5%
- DAX futures point to a slightly higher opening of the European session
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked an attempt by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to unanimously approve a bill that would raise direct payments to $2,000 from $600.
- US President-elect Joe Biden warned yesterday, it could take years for most Americans to be vaccinated for the virus at current distribution rates
- The first known US case of a more contagious COVID-19 variant was detected in Colorado Tuesday
- Australia reported 18 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday and authorities consider imposing lockdown on all of Sydney
- Associated Press reported that EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel will sign the post-Brexit trade deal agreed with Britain later in the day
- Yesterday the US government started sending $600 stimulus payments to individuals. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the process of mailing out paper checks on Wednesday for individuals without government-registered bank accounts will begin on Wednesday.
- Stocks of crude oil in the US dropped by 4.8 million barrels in the week ended December 25th, according to API report
- AUD and NZD are leaders among major currencies while USD and EUR lag the most
After the Christmas dip, the number of new infections is rising again. Over 611 thousand new coronavirus cases were reported yesterday. Source: worldometers, XTB
