S&P500
On Thursday, the US market soared further, setting new yearly highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%, the NASDAQ gained 0.8%, and the S&P500 added 0.4%.
On Friday, oil prices continue to slide down. Brent crude fell to the weekly low of $80.30 amid yesterday's OPEC decision not to raise production quotas above previously set targets, despite growing demand and high oil prices. According to Kuwait's minister of oil, there could be an oversupply of oil lin the market in 2022.
Yesterday, 509,000 new COVID-19 infections were reported worldwide, with 81,000 recorded in the United States. Germany registered 36,000 new COVID-19 cases. Other European countries experiencing high infection rates are the UK, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.
The S&P500 is trading at 4,680 and is expected to be in the 4,640 - 4,700 range.
The growth of the US stock market has significantly accelerated over the past 4 weeks, compared to earlier upsurges this year. Since 18 October, the S&P500 has gained 240 points, or 5%. The main index has climbed above the 50-day moving average by 5% as well. Usually, major funds buy stocks on a bounce to the 50-day MA. Obviously, such growth cannot continue for a long time. A major correction is expected in the near future.
Yesterday, the weekly unemployment report was released in the United States, showing a 269,000 increase in jobless claims. The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits fell to 2.1 million from 2.24 million a month earlier. Today, the Department of Labor is set to release the unemployment rate for October. The projected rate is 4.7-4.8% with 400,000-450,000 new jobs created - an average level for the United States economy.
Google has invested $1 billion into the CME Group, striking a deal with the futures exchange to move its online infrastructure to Google Cloud.
Amid continuously high levels of COVID-19 infection in the United States, the US government has mandated vaccination for all companies with 100 or more employees by 4 January. After the deadline, unvaccinated employees must be tested weekly. The requirements will apply to more than 80 million workers.
USDX is trading at 94.30 and is expected to be in the 94.0 - 94.60 range. Yesterday, the US dollar index soared, despite remaining steady against the euro. The pound dropped sharply against the dollar, after the Bank of England decided to keep the interest rate unchanged against market expectations.
USDCAD is trading at 1.2460 and is expected to be in the 1.2400 - 1.2500 range. The pair made gains yesterday, thanks to the rising dollar index. However, it may go down once oil prices begin rebounding upwards.
The market is awaiting the release of the US employment report. A strong correction is very likely to begin at any time.