APAC Morning Update - 23 Nov 2020

The weekend has gone, and both the AUD and NZD are still well supported - the AUD above 0.7300 and the NZD above 0.6900 - going into the new week.

What happened over the weekend in the USA?

U.S Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has said the Fed will stop key Covid lending programs on December 31, saying congress should use the money to help U.S small businesses with grants instead.

Covid cases are currently rapidly rising in the U.S, but the first Americans could potentially receive a vaccine as soon as December 11 according to the head of the U.S coronavirus vaccine programme.

If this is the case, then risk appetite will surge in the markets.

Europe and Britain

Consumer sentiment in Europe, which has been struggling for most of this year, has deteriorated further for the month of November, and with Christmas just around the corner, let's hope some potential positive vaccine news could bring some cheer to the continent.

Talks between the EU and Britain resume this week, but this story's happy ending may be a few chapters away.

What to expect this week

We have a host of data out this week both locally and offshore.

The key drivers off this uptrend have not changed. Risk on sentiment will mainly be based on the markets view of any pandemic news, and the vaccine.

Exporters need to take advantage of any dips, and importers should continue to ride this market higher as long as the current cycle remains in place.

Global equities are mixed: Dow -0.7%, S&P 500 -0.7%, FTSE +0.3, DAX 0.4%, CAC +0.4%, Nikkei -0.4%, Shanghai +0.5%.

Gold is currently trading at $1,872 an ounce while WTI Crude Oil prices are up 0.2% trading at $42.42 a barrel.