The US
The American benchmarks recorded the worst session they had in two weeks, as States reported a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 infections. USA30 fell 2.7%. USA500 shed 2.6%, while TECH100 snapped out of the record gains it had the previous day and ended on -2.2%.
Oil prices fell almost 6% after data from EIA showed an increase in shale oil. Oil lost 5.8% to $38.01 per barrel, while Brent shed 5.4% to $40.31.
The Dollar Index rose 0.48% to 96.07.
Gold broke the winnings chain and fell 0.4% to $1,775.10 per ounce.
Asia and Australia
Even though the number of infections continues to increase, the market paid attention to tensions between China, Hong Kong, and Macau, as the National People's Congress Standing Committee is set to meet this weekend. The security law could be enforced before July in Hong Kong and Macau.
HongKong45 was down 0.05%.
Japan225 gained 0.02%, while USD/JPY peaked to 106.97.
Down Under, ASX rose 0.11%. AUD/USD dropped to the lowest point it had in two weeks – 0.6865.
Europe
The European benchmarks closed lower yesterday as new outbreaks have been reported, and various areas are again in lockdown. Germany30 led the losses as it dropped by 0.8%. UK100 fell 0.7%, while France40 was down 0.6%.
EUR/USD slid 0.1% to 1.1300.
GBP/USD fell 0.76% to $1.2422.
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Sources: marketwatch.com, investing.com