S&P500
Investors are pushing for growth.
The main US indices attempted to decline in Wednesday's trading, but the market still closed at the highs of the day.
The Dow added 0.1%, the NASDAQ grew by 0.6%, and the S&P500 increased by 0.3%.
Japan's indices were down by 0.3%, while China's indices added 2.3%.
Brent crude futures was up by 1%, to settle at $76.50 on Thursday.
US crude inventories, according to the Energy Agency, fell by 0.3 mln barrels over the week, while gasoline inventories rose by 2.9 mln barrels.
The number of coronavirus cases worldwide keeps rising. On Wednesday, there were 666K new cases around the world. In the US, there were 127K cases. Germany and France reported +68K and +61K new infections respectively.
The S&P500 index is trading at 4,701 and is expected to be in the 4,670–4,730 range.
The market is waiting for the US inflation report tomorrow. One of the world's largest credit rating agencies, Fitch, expects global inflation to decline in the second half of 2022. As we know, the Fed has already started the cycle of monetary policy tightening and will consider an acceleration in the tapering of growth support programmes next week. Fitch has also lowered its global GDP growth forecast from +6% to +5.7% this year.
Inflation and high interest rates are problems for the whole world. The Central Bank of Brazil left the rate at +9.25% today. Obviously, with interest rates at this level, no long-term projects stand a chance of getting credit. And high rates are generated by high inflation.
Pfizer reported that three doses vaccine provided a high level of protection against the omicron variant of the virus. According to a preliminary lab study, a booster shot of the vaccine increases antibody protection 25-fold compared with the initial two-dose series.
The weekly US jobs report will be released today. Experts forecast jobless claims to rise by 220 K. The number of long-term unemployed fell below 2 mln last week to 1.95 mln.
The US dollar index is trading at 96.00. It is likely to remain in the range of 95.70-96.30. The dollar index dropped yesterday as EUR/USD rose sharply. The euro rose after Olaf Scholz officially took office in Germany, replacing long-serving Angela Merkel, who had successfully governed Germany since 2005.
USDCAD is trading at 1.2670 and is expected to be in the 1.2600–1.2720 range. The pair halted its fall but remains under strong pressure with oil prices rising.
The US market is set to hit the highs of the year. However, tomorrow's inflation data could change the picture dramatically.