• Stocks in Asia traded mixed with Nikkei fell 0.78% and S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.14%. Kospi lost 0.32% while indices from China advanced more than 1%
  • US futures trade slightly higher
  • DAX futures point to higher opening of the European cash session
  • Biden restores Iran civilian nuclear sanctions relief in sign of deal progress
  • Saudi Aramco raised its prices to Asia from February
  • Australia to reopen its borders to double vaccinated tourists on February 21st
  • China locks down Baise city after an Omicron outbreak
  • ECB’s Knot sees first interest rate hike in Q4 2022
  • China Caixin/Markit PMIs Services for January 51.4 (prior 53.1)
  • Australia Retail Sales (ex inflation) +8.2% q/q for Q4 2021 (vs. est 7.8%, prior -4.4%)
  • Australia services PMI for January 56.2 (prior 49.6)
  • Cryptocurrencies are trading higher today. Bitcoin jumped above  $42,770 while Ethereum trades above $3,090
  • Precious metals and oil prices rose at the beginning of the week
  • CAD and AUD are the best performing major currencies while EUR and JPY lag the most