Equity Markets

Risk sentiment was buoyed by more vaccine updates coming from AstraZeneca. Interim results from the ongoing Phase I/II COV001 trial, led by Oxford University, showed AZD1222 was tolerated and generated robust immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in all evaluated participants.

Wall Street ended in positive territory led by a tech rally- Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Google, and Microsoft continue to outperform as investors are piling into the tech mega-caps:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average added 9 points or 0.03% to 26,681.
• S&P 500 rose by 27 points or 0.8% to 3,252.
• Nasdaq Composite added 264 points or 2.5% to 10,767.

On the earnings calendar, International Business Machines (IBM) reported its second-quarter earnings after the market close:

• The Company reported revenue of $18.1 billion, down 5.4 percent, but beating estimates.
• In a pandemic-induced environment, the cloud and hardware business performed well. Total cloud revenue is up by 3% at $6.3 billion.

Its share price rose by more than 4% in after-hours trading following the release of the quarterly updates.

Currency Markets

In the FX space, nearly all major currencies were stronger against the US dollar. The safe-haven currency struggled to edge higher following the better market mood.

Amid a subdued economic calendar on Monday, the British Pound found support on the less-dovish stance of the Chief Economist of the Bank of England. Mr Andrew Haldane was more optimistic about the recovery of the UK economy. The GBPUSD pair rallied and traded around its recent highs in the 1.26 region.

GBPUSD (Daily Chart)

Commodities

The rising number of coronavirus cases and positive vaccine updates drove the commodities markets. Crude oil prices swung between losses and gains on Monday. WTI and Brent Crude finished the day slightly higher. As of writing, WTI Crude oil (Nymex) and Brent Crude (ICE) were trading around $40.80 and $43.32, respectively.

Gold

Gold surged despite the risk-on sentiment on the back of a weaker US dollar. The improvement in risk appetite remains fragile and overshadowed by the increase in daily virus cases and the need for further stimulus support. As of writing, the XAUUSD pair is currently trading at $1,816.

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