Asian shares rose on Monday as concerns over rising COVID-19 cases

Asian shares rose on Monday as concerns over rising COVID-19 cases and delays in vaccine supplies were eclipsed by expectations of a $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus plan to help revive the U.S. economy. The Shanghai composite is up 0.78% at 3,633.86. Overall, the Singapore MSCI down 0.15% at 339.15. Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index up 1.93% to 30,029. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 up 0.38% at 28,740, while the Topix index is down 0.03% at 1855.0. South Korea’s Kospi up 1.82% to 3197.57. Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.24% at 6816.6.

European equities Friday closing. The DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.24% down at 13873.97, CAC 40 futures down 0.56% at 5559.6 and the UK 100 futures contract in the U.K. down 0.30% at 6,695.1.

In U.S. on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.57% down at 30997.0 the S&P 500 down 0.30% to 3841.5 and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.85% at 13478.9, NYSE closes at 14951.84 down 0.45%.

In the Forex market, GBPUSD up 0.25% at 1.37061. The USDJPY up 0.04% at 103.744. The USDCHF up 0.01% at 0.88505. EURUSD up 0.06% at 1.21783, EUR/GBP down 0.04% at 0.88838. The USD/CNY down 0.09% at 6.4752, at the time of writing.

In the commodity market U.S. Gold futures up 0.03% at $1,855.4. Elsewhere, Silver futures up 0.48% to $25.589 per ounce, Platinum down 0.29% at $1099.22 per ounce, and Palladium down 0.34% to $2,354.00.

Crude Oil mix on Monday; Brent crude oil up 0.51% to $55.35 barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (CLc1) is down 0.19% at $52.26.

In the Cryptocurrency Markets, BTCUSD at 33356.89 up 3.30%, Ethereum at 1433.86 up 2.90%, Litecoin at 145.55 up 3.07%, at the time of writing.

TOP STOCKS TO WATCH OUT TODAY:

TWITTER Inc. up 1.995% at $48.06, OTIS WORLDWIDE up 2.141% at $64.88, INTEL Corp. down 9.286% to $56.66, WESTERN DIGITAL down 5.233% to $50.71, APPLE Inc. up 1.607% to $139.07, PAYPAL Holdings up 1.351% at $252.

Economic news:

US: Officials in President Joe Biden’s administration tried to head off Republican concerns that his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief proposal was too expensive on a Sunday call with Republican and Democratic lawmakers, some of whom pushed for a smaller plan targeting vaccine distribution.

Lawmakers from both parties said they had agreed that getting the COVID-19 vaccine to Americans should be a priority, but some Republicans objected to such a hefty package only a month after Congress passed a $900 billion relief measure.

“It seems premature to be considering a package of this size and scope,” said Republican Senator Susan Collins, who was on the call with Brian Deese, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, and other top Biden aides.

Eurozone: A group of British members of parliament said on Monday that the Bank of England should stop buying bonds from businesses whose activities accelerate global warming.

Britain’s central bank doubled its holdings of corporate bonds to 20 billion pounds ($27 billion) last year as part of efforts to support the economy through the coronavirus pandemic.

The House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee – which looks at public bodies’ impact on global warming – said buying bonds from firms such as energy companies with high carbon emissions contravened government goals to reduce global warming.

“The Bank must begin a process of aligning its corporate bond purchasing programme with Paris Agreement goals as a matter of urgency,” the committee’s chairman, Philip Dunne, wrote in a letter to BoE Governor Andrew Bailey.

Important Data: German Ifo Business Climate Index (Jan) today at 4:00 this time estimated 91.8, previously which was 92.1. RUSSIA Industrial Production (YoY) (Dec) today at 11:00 this time estimated -3.0%, previously which was -2.6%. German Current Assessment (Jan) today at 4:00 this time estimated 90.6, previously which was 91.3. US 6-Month Bill Auction today at 11:30 previously which was at 0.095%.

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

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