TOPICS MENTIONED IN THIS MARKET BRIEFING:

• European stock markets boosted by the hope of a treatment
• Wall Street driven to record highs
• Chart of the day – USD/CAD: a double bottom

EUROPEAN SCHOLARSHIPS BOOSTED BY HOPE FOR CURE

European stocks started the week with a sharp rise on Monday, as the latest news on the coronavirus research front provided investors with another reason to buy, leading to new records on Wall Street.

As in Asia and then in America, investors welcomed the announcement of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) emergency green light for a blood plasma-based treatment for COVID-19 and the Financial Times article according to which the Trump administration is considering an accelerated procedure for the vaccine candidate developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, which could therefore be available before the American presidential election on November 3.

This information revives the hope that the medical and political authorities will take control of the pandemic in the coming months, whereas previous sessions had been marked, among other things, by signs of a resurgence of the health crisis.

Thus, the CAC 40 index gained 2.28% to 5,007.89 points. The Footsie gained 1.71% and the DAX 30 advanced 2.36%.

WALL STREET TRAINED TO RECORDS

Wall Street ended higher on Monday with new records for the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq, supported by hopes of finding a vaccine against COVID-19.

The trend was fueled on Monday by new information on a treatment and a vaccine against Covid-19, which gave a boost to the sectors most affected on the stock market by the pandemic.

Wall Street was also driven Monday by the rise of Apple, which gained 1.2% after having already taken more than 5% on Friday. The company which is now worth more than 2,000 billion dollars on the New York Stock Exchange will soon divide its share by four, an operation intended to make it cheaper per unit, for shareholders holding shares Monday at the close.

Investors will be watching closely later in the week for a speech U.S. Central Bank President Jerome Powell is due to deliver on Thursday at the annual meeting of top central bankers that usually takes place in Jackson Hole but will take place virtually this year.

Consequently, the Dow Jones, took 1.35% to 27,930.33 points. The Nasdaq advanced 0.60% and the S&P-500 gained 1.00%.

Otherpoints on the news of the financial markets

• FOREX

The dollar retreated a little against the other major currencies, the renewed appetite for risk depriving it of its appeal as a safe haven, which allowed the euro to rise to 1.18 dollar.

However, the greenback remains above its recent low of more than two years against the single currency, which rose to 1.1965 last Tuesday.

• Oil

The oil market is benefiting not only from the optimism linked to research on the coronavirus but also from the arrival announced on the Gulf of Mexico of a hurricane and a tropical storm, which has brought to a halt more than half production capacity in the region.

Brent crude gained 1.53% to $45.03 a barrel and US light crude WTI 0.9% to $42.72.

Today's economic calendar:

CHART OF THE DAY – USD/CAD: A DOUBLE BOTTOM

After taking a real dip from 1.3640, the US Dollar finally found support to rebound. On this 4-hour chart, the pair is trending down within a channel. However, the market could regain height if the upper limit is broken.

First of all, prices are forming a reversal chart pattern with a “double bottom”, so the crossing of the neck line at 1.3230 should lead to a bullish acceleration. The theoretical objective would therefore be to seek resistance around 1.3330.

On the other hand, in case of failure, on the upper band of the channel, the pair risks consolidating within a range between 1.3230 and 1.3140. So, only the release of one of the two terminals will support the momentum to come.