New Year starts in the usual regime - stocks & dollar up

According to Johns Hopkins University data, the Omicron variant continues to spread in countries from China to the US, with the global number of cases topping 290 million as of today. On the other hand, South Africa has already lifted its restrictions, and it looks like the wave has ended there, with no real uptick in deaths, despite a large number of cases.

Liquidity remains minimal as Chinese, Australian, and Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Additionally, there are no major macro data on the agenda today, likely resulting in low volatility.

The US dollar has started the new year in a bullish mood, pushing the EURUSD pair below 1.1350. So far, the USDJPY pair has managed to stay above the important 115 level.

US yields also ticked higher today, undermining precious metals. Silver was down half a percent, changing hands at around 23.20 USD, while gold traded near 1,825 USD.

US equities continued higher, as it looks like there is no other way, with indices trading near their all-time highs. EU bourses also rose sharply, with the German DAX jumping 1% and French CAC rocketing to new record highs.