Equities mixed despite Biden big stimulus plan - 18.1.2021

The Dollar strengthening is intact today. The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, closed 0.6% higher on Friday despite the US Census Bureau report retail sales declined 0.7% over month in December despite holiday shopping, after 1.4% drop in November, while US industrial production rose 1.6% over month when no change was forecast.

Both GBP/USD and EUR/USD accelerated sliding Friday as UK Office for National Statistics reported UK economy contracted by 2.6% over month in November as the country implemented fresh lockdown measures, when 4.6% contraction was expected. Both Euro and Pound are lower against the Dollar currently. AUD/USD continued sliding Friday while USD/JPY reversed its retreating with the Australian dollar lower against the greenback while yen is inching higher currently.

Futures on US equity benchmarks are down currently after disappointing retail sales report Friday. The three main US stock benchmarks recorded losses ranging from 0.6% to 0.9%. Wall Street will be closed today for Martin Luther King Day.

European stock indexes are edging lower currently after logging a loss for last week on Friday led by basic resources stocks as the Eurostat reported trade surplus in euro-zone declined to 25.1 billion euro from 25.2 billion in October when 22.3 billion surplus was forecast. Asian indexes are mixed with Shanghai Composite leading the gainers today after the National Bureau of Statistics of China report the economy grew 6.5% in the fourth quarter, on a year earlier, exceeding forecasts of 6.1% growth.