New drugs for coronavirus Omicron expected - 22.12.2021

On Tuesday, the US dollar index was almost unchanged. Investors are trying to evaluate the message from pharmaceutical company Moderna that its vaccine may be effective against the Omicron coronavirus. In addition, the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration is going to authorize the use of drugs from Pfizer and Merck against Covid-19. The Canadian dollar strengthened thanks to a strong increase in Retail Sales in October (+ 1.6% in monthly terms). The Bank of Canada noted that the downturn in the Canadian economy has eased, which may be a sign of a desire to tighten monetary policy. UK GDP for the 3rd quarter of 2021 was released this morning in 2nd reading. It was unexpectedly increased to 6.8%, up from 6.6% in 1st reading. This could support the pound. Czech National Bank is expected to raise its rate today. Bitcoin rose noticeably yesterday, but could not exceed the psychological level of $ 50,000. Investors welcomed the resignation of Elad Roisman, one of the 5 board members of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In addition, some players associate the growth of cryptocurrencies with the high volatility of the Turkish lira and the actions of investors from Turkey.

Yesterday, US stock indices rose markedly after a 3-day decline. Investors reacted positively to reports from several pharmaceutical companies (AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Merck) about the creation of new vaccines and drugs for coronavirus. Despite this, the shares of these companies themselves dropped yesterday. In addition, the stock market rally was supported by reports of progress in negotiations for a $ 1.75 trillion allocation for the US construction program Build Back Better. Nike (+ 6.1%) and Micron Technology (+ 10.5%) rose on strong financial results and outlooks. Amid a decrease in the risks of a new epidemic, the shares of travel companies Carnival (+ 9%), Las Vegas Sands (+ 8.4%) and Expedia (+ 9.1%) soared. UBS Bank raised its recommendation on the shares of the manufacturer of graphics card and computer chips Nvidia (+ 4.9%). Today the US is to publish economic data on 3rd quarter GDP in 3rd reading and Existing Home Sales for November. In addition, the Conference Board United States Consumer Confidence Index will be released. The preliminary forecasts are positive. 

Today oil is getting more expensive for the second day in a row. The main positive factor is the reduced risk of a global lockdown due to the new variant of the Omicron coronavirus. The independent American Petroleum Institute announced a decline in US oil reserves for the week by 3.67 million barrels. This happened for the 4th week in a row. WTI is again trading above the psychological level of $70 a barrel. Rystad Energy reported that in 2021 the number of discovered new oil and gas fields turned out to be the lowest in the last 75 years.