FX.co ★ US stock market on February 1, 2022

S&P 500

Omicron statistics as of February 1.

The US stock market was bullish on Friday and Monday: the Dow added 1.2%, the NASDAQ climbed 3.4%, and the S&P 500 increased by 1.9%.

Japan's Nikkei was up by 0.3% on Tuesday morning.

Energy: Oil encountered strong resistance at $90 per barrel. Nevertheless, Brent crude is still hovering around the 2014 high of $89.60 per barrel.

Gas crisis in Europe: Qatar, at the request of the United States, can provide the EU with short-term emergency liquid gas to help replace any loss of supplies. However, Qatar asks for guarantees that the supplied gas will not be resold to countries outside the EU.

The S&P 500 trades at 4,515 and is expected to be in the range of 4,580 - 4,540.

Two bullish days in the US stock market signal the end of the correction. Having digested the outcome of the FOMC meeting and the fact that the first rate hike will take place in March, investors are now ready to drive the price up to new highs. The S&P 500 added 4% on Friday and Monday.

Monday was a calm day in the market due to the empty macroeconomic calendar. At the same time, the US recorded a record increase in new Omicron cases yesterday.

Omicron worldwide: the global infection rate came at 2.1 million on Monday, down by 30% from the previous weekly high. Yesterday, the US reported a 247K increase in new cases. Last week, the number of new infections came at 700K. France saw an 82K rise in the infection rate on Monday and a 400K surge last week. Russia recorded the new high of 130K new cases yesterday.

The ISM manufacturing PMI will be released in the US today. The reading is expected to drop to 57% versus 58.7%. The Chicago PMI increased to 65.2%.

USDX trades at 96.50 and is likely to be in the 96.30 - 96.80 range. The US dollar incurred losses yesterday after the euro/dollar pair had reversed up. The euro strengthened after the release of the inflation report in Germany to 4.9%. An increase came ahead of the ECB meeting on Thursday. The regulator is unlikely to raise the interest rate but it may start preparing for a rate hike, following the Fed's suit.

The USD/CAD pair trades at 1.2695 and is expected to stay in the range of 1.2630-1.2720. The pair went down due to the weaker greenback. The sideways movement is highly likely.

Conclusion: the US stock market is likely to remain bullish. A pullback may occur after two bullish days. The US stock market may extend gains to the highs of early 2022.