【TOP1 Morning】Tesla Hits Highest Since September; Gold slips on Pfizer boost to risk appetite

Yesterday Market Review

Gold

Gold prices eased on Wednesday as optimism about Pfizer's successful vaccine trials countered concerns over rising coronavirus infections and bets for further economic support.

The spot gold closed at $1871.47 per ounce; the volatility within the day is $1863.48-$1884.74.

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc said it was set to apply for emergency U.S. authorization after final results from its vaccine trial showed a 95% success rate with two months of safety data.

"Vaccines seem to be progressing quickly and there are several others also in the pipeline that should help the global economy recover and be net bearish for gold. But in the meantime, the fact that we're not out of the woods yet and need more stimulus seems to be offering some support," Meir said.

"It is worth recalling that the driver of investment flows into precious metals has ultimately been sourced from a powerful impulse lower in real rates," TD Securities said in a note. "The U.S. Federal Reserve's continued attempt to spark higher inflation expectations should suppress real rates deeper into negative territory. This will continue to drive investment appetite for precious metals, as capital seeks to shelter itself from increasingly negative real rates."

New York City's entire public school system will shut on Thursday, signaling that a second wave of the coronavirus had arrived as the city is still struggling to revive from its devastating spring, when it was a global epicenter of the pandemic.

The silver closed at $24.312, the volatility within the day is $24.179-$24.685.

Forex

The dollar slipped for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, sliding to a more than one-week low, as positive vaccine news offset the surge in coronavirus cases and tighter economic restrictions across the United States and Europe.

The U.S. dollar index closed at 92.40; the volatility within the day is 92.19 - 92.51.

The market showed a little more appetite for risk-taking, with gains in currencies that rise in times of improving sentiments, such as sterling, the New Zealand dollar, and the Norwegian crown.

"A spike in COVID cases is generally good for the dollar and other safe-haven currencies like the yen and Swiss franc, but the positive vaccine news roughly counters that," said Greg Anderson, global head of foreign exchange strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York.

The dollar overall is expected to weaken as global economies improve once the vaccine gets widely distributed and as the Federal Reserve stands ready to provide more easing that should further erode the value of the greenback.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday there was "a long way to go" to economic recovery, and a retail sales report released by the U.S. Commerce Department showed spending decelerating.

The euro was slightly up on the day at $1.1869 rising, despite Poland and Hungary blocking the European Union's 1.8 trillion-euro ($2.14 trillion) financial package to revive an economy depressed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sterling, meanwhile, rose 0.3% versus the dollar to $1.3297 in the wake of a report from the Sun newspaper that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was told by British negotiators to expect a Brussels trade deal early next week, with "a possible landing zone" as soon as next Tuesday.

The dollar, though, fell 0.3% against the yen to 103.865, with the Japanese currency recouping much of the losses it suffered last week after Pfizer announced it had developed a working COVID-19 vaccine.

Stock Market

U.S. stocks fell for a second straight day on Wednesday as the market's recent rally to new records took a pause.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 344.93 points, or 1.16%, to close at 29,438.42. The S&P 500 lost 41.74 points, or 1.16%, to end at 3,567.79, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 97.74 points or  0.82% at 11,801.60.

Some stay-at-home stocks jumped after the announcement of the shuttering of the nation's largest school system. Video conferencing company Zoom Video rallied more than 3%, while Peloton gained nearly 2%.

Meanwhile, shares of major technology companies led the broader market lower. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Facebook all fell at least 1%.

Tesla traded higher on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley upgraded the electric-vehicle manufacturer to "overweight" from "equal weight" for the first time since 2017.

Morgan Stanley said it sees a budding opportunity in Tesla's high-margin software-and-services business, which it expects to represent up to 20% of total profit by 2030.

Crude Oil

Oil prices firmed by more than 1% on Wednesday on hopes OPEC and its allies will delay a planned increase in oil output and after Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine was more effective than previously reported.

West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $41.735, volatility within the day is $41.303-$42.677. International benchmark Brent crude closed at $44.198, volatility within the day is $43.618-$44.999.

Prices were also supported by a smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week.

Focus Today

16:00(GMT+8): ECB President Lagarde Speech;

21:30(GMT+8): United States Initial Jobless Claims (14/NOV), Forecast: 707K, Previous: 709K;