Stock Futures Extend Gains on Virus Slowdown Hopes

Equities

Major US stock-index futures extended upside rally adding to yesterday's gains as investors hope for a Coronavirus slowdown. The optimism came after a series of developments in Asia and Europe, among them China reporting no new deaths yesterday for the first time since January, and new cases eased in Italy and Spain. President Trump stated that there is light at the end of the tunnel with vaccine and treatment research. The World Health Organization announced that the research to develop vaccines and treatments to fight the COVID 19 has accelerated at an incredible pace. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose to 23010, the S&P500 futures rallied to 2697, and the Nasdaq futures advanced to 8175.

USD

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, faltered at a two-week high of 100.93 and tumbled to 100.06 amid enhanced risk sentiment. Market participants' optimism over a slowdown in the Coronavirus outbreak boosted the capital flow towards riskier currencies. US Treasury yields edged higher for the second consecutive day, where the US 10-year yields rose to 0.746%, and the US-30 year yields jumped to 1.357%. The EURUSD rebounded from a two-week low of $1.0768 to $1.0877, the GBPUSD rose to $1.2347, and the AUDUSD raced higher to $0.6191.

Metals

Precious metal prices shot higher as the dollar lost ground. The price of a gold ounce hit a one-month high of $1673, the price of a silver ounce rallied to $15.44, and palladium futures hovered above $2100.

Oil

Oil prices traded in a cautious mode awaiting fresh news concerning the OPEC+ meeting. Benchmarks were affected negatively by postponing the meeting, but prices recovered as Kirill Dmitriev stated that Saudi Arabia and Russia are very close to reaching a deal. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures held steady near $27, and Brent futures inched higher to $33.70. Market participants are looking forward to the weekly crude oil stock report by the American Petroleum Institute ahead of the official figures tomorrow.

Major Economic Events

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