Daily summary: Weak start to the week for global equities

• European indices finished today's session lower, with DAX down 0.1% dragged down by tech stocks. 

• The German economy unexpectedly contracted in Q4, and Spain's inflation accelerated in January from December's 13-month low. 

• The blue-chip Dow Jones is trading 0.30% lower on Monday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively, as investors braced for an interesting week of earnings with four US megatech companies  (Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and Apple) and interest rate decisions from FED, ECB and BoE. 

• Alibaba shares plunged over 7% following news that the Chinese e-commerce giant is moving its headquarters out of the country. Company denied these speculations.

• Energy commodities are trading under pressure on Monday. Oil prices fell over 2.0% as Russian oil producers have been able to secure export deals despite Western sanctions and price caps on the back of robust demand from Asia. 

• Natgas briefly fell 10.0% and tested $2.56 mark after recent weather forecasts pointed to milder weather across most of the US in the next few days.

• Gold again pulled back to major support at $1920 amid stronger dollar and elevated treasury yields.

• Dollar is the best performing currency among G10. Greenback strengthened significantly against antipodean currencies, yen and pound. EURUSD is approaching major support at 1.0835.

• Selling pressure is visible on the crypto market. Bitcoin fell nearly 5.0% and retreated towards support at $22700, while Ethereum fell from recent highs at $1650 and tested $1525 level.

USDCAD bounced off key support at 1.3300 and launched an impressive recovery move on Monday. If current sentiment prevails, crucial resistance at 1.3410 may be at risk. Source: xStation5