【TOP1 Evening】 BioNTech rallies. GBP/USD rises sharply.

Forex: USD is hovering low

USD was hovering near the lows of more than two months against major currencies on Monday. The disappointing U.S. employment report prompted investors to lower their expectations for interest rate hikes, and their focus turned to this week’s inflation data.

The increase in non-agricultural jobs in the United States in April was only a little more than a quarter of analysts' estimates, and the unemployment rate also unexpectedly rose, pouring cold water on those who expect the economic recovery may trigger the acceleration of inflation expected by the Fed.

USD index was reported at 90.259, after falling to 90.128, the lowest point since February 26.

The pound sterling was among the highest gains against the dollar, rising 0.5% to its highest level since February 25.

"This week's volatile downward trend in the US dollar may continue," Kim Mundy, a strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), wrote in a client report, and expects the euro/dollar to exceed $1.22.

The euro rose 0.1% to 1.2172 against the dollar, having earlier hit 1.2177, its highest since February 26.

The dollar rose to 108.865 yen, but not far from its low since April 27.

The Australian dollar was close to a two-month high at $0.7847 against the U.S. dollar. The Canadian dollar rose to a three-and-a-half-year high of $1.2111 against the U.S. dollar.

Stock market: U.S. stocks drive Asian stocks

Before the US stock market, BioNTech SE rose 7% to $197.50.

On the news, BioNTech and Fosun Pharma have reached a cooperation agreement. The two parties will establish a joint venture company in China to locally produce and commercialize mRNA vaccines with a production capacity of up to 1 billion doses.

The Japanese stock market closed higher on Monday. The strong closing of US stocks last week boosted risk appetite. Japanese domestic investors focused on the performance reports of automakers and other major companies, looking for signs of progress in the economy hit by the epidemic.

The Nikkei index rose 0.55% to close at 29,518.34 points; the top stock index closed 0.99% higher to 1,952.27 points.

Gold: Gold price rises slightly

Gold prices rose slightly on Monday and hovered around the nearly three-month high hit last week. The previous US employment data was weaker than expected, strengthening the hope that interest rates will remain low for a period of time, boosting the charm of gold prices.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to US$1,834.96 per ounce, after hitting the highest level of US$1,842.91 since February 11 in the previous trading day.

US gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,835.00 per ounce.

The SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed publicly traded fund (ETF), increased its holdings by 0.6% on Friday.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday that the speculative net long position of COMEX gold and silver futures increased in the week ending May 4.

Spot palladium rose 0.3% to 2,934.15 US dollars per ounce. Spot silver rose 1.1% to US$27.74, while spot platinum (Platinum) rose 0.6% to US$1,256.27.

Crude oil: rising oil prices

Oil prices rose slightly on Friday. Despite the worsening of the new crown crisis in India, oil prices rose for the second consecutive week in the context of optimism about the recovery of the global economy.

Brent crude oil futures closed at US$68.28 per barrel, and US crude oil futures (WTI) settled at US$64.90 per barrel. The two major index contracts both rose by US$0.19, an increase of 0.3%.

The two major indicators of crude oil contracts both rose more than 1% this week, marking the second consecutive week of gains, as the United States and Europe eased movement restrictions, resumed factory operations, and vaccinated to pave the way for the recovery of fuel demand.

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23:00 US consumer inflation expectations (April)