Morning wrap (21.01.2022)

• Wall Street indices tried to recover yesterday but moods deteriorated quickly after launch of the cash trading. S&P 500 dropped 1.10%, Dow Jones moved 0.89%, Nasdaq plunged 1.30% and Russell 2000 finished 1.88%

• Weakness could also be spotted on the markets during the Asian session. Nikkei dropped 0.9%, S&P/ASX 200 plunged almost 2.3% and Kospi moved 1% lower. Indices from China dropped

• DAX futures point to a lower opening of the European cash session

• Rising yields are pressuring risk assets, like equities and cryptocurrencies

• Risk-off moods can also be spotted on the FX market with JPY and CHF being top performing major currencies

• US Treasury Secretary Yellen said that inflation will ease this year if pandemic gets under control

• UK foreign minister warned Russia not to invade Ukraine. Diplomats from Moscow and Washington will meet today in Geneva for talks

• Japanese core CPI inflation for December remained unchanged at 0.5% YoY (exp. 0.6% YoY)

• Netflix plunged around 20% in the after-hours trading. Company reported disappointing Q4 results and Q1 forecasts, and said that competition in streaming business is growing

• Precious metals trade slightly lower. Brent and WTI drop over 1.5%

• Cryptocurrencies took a hit overnight with Bitcoin plunging below $40,000 handle

US indices experienced another day of selling yesterday. However, this time it was different as a plunge in tech shares was also accompanied by a plunge in cryptocurrency prices. Bitcoin dropped almost 6% over the past 24 hours while Ethereum moved almost 7% lower. Source: xStation5