- European equities end session in red
- US indexes rebound
- OPEC+ will increase output in January by 400,000 bpd
European indices finished lower on Thursday as bullish momentum from the previous session faded away. DAX dropped 1.35% and other major bourses closed down between 0.6% and 1.8%. The new Omicron coronavirus variant dampened risk sentiment after Germany announced new COVID-19 restrictive measures, including restrictions on the number of people who can meet inside, and closures to some discos and clubs. Also Eurozone producer price inflation reached a new record high, and some investors expect that ECB will change its current rhetoric that high inflation is transitory.
US indices rebounded from yesterday's losses led by gains in Boeing and travel stocks. Elsewhere, technology shares took a downturn following news that Apple told its suppliers that some orders may not materialize because demand for the iPhone 13 has slowed. The S&P 500 returned above the 50 session average, and the 100 session average has not been affected. Nevertheless, the further fate of Wall Street may depend on tomorrow's NFP report. Expectations are high, supported by a good ADP reading and decreasing number of unemployment claims. Today's report showed that claims rebounded slightly compared to last week's reading, nevertheless the labor market remains very strong.
The dollar tried to move higher today together with bond yields, which pushed the gold price lower to the region of $ 1,763. Many US bankers believe the pace of the tapering process should be increased, which would in turn allow earlier rate hikes. If the NFP report surprises positively tomorrow, it seems certain that the tapering process will be accelerated.
OPEC + decided to keep the policy unchanged. This means that in January the production in the cartel will be increased by 400k barrels. However, the market expected that OPEC + would decide to take steps to support prices. However, this was not the case and WTI oil prices fell almost to the $ 62.00 level. Investors, however, quickly started buying back oil after OPEC+ announced in the statement that it is ready to quickly adjust output plans if the pandemic drastically hit the prices. As a result, the price of WTI crude oil rose above the $ 66.00 level.
GOLD price broke below key support zone around $1770.00 which is strengthened by 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the bullish wave launched in March 2021 and upward trendline. If current sentiment prevails, next support at $1730 may be at risk. Source: xStation5
