Global stocks rose today as investors reacted to news that Russia had approved the first coronavirus vaccine. In a statement, Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said that the vaccine had passed all regulatory approvals and that it worked. One of his daughters had taken the vaccine. The approval of the vaccine comes at a time when other leading companies like AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Gilead are developing a vaccine of their own. In Europe, the DAX index, Stoxx 50, and CAC 50 rose by more than 2% while in the US, futures tied to the Dow Jones and S&P 500 rose by more than 280 and 25 points, respectively.

The British pound rose as traders reacted to mixed jobs numbers from the UK. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the country’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9%, which was better than the 4.2% that analysts were expecting. The data showed that there were more than 32.92 million in employment between April and June. That was 113,000 more than the same period in 2019 but 220,000 less than in the previous quarter. The number of employees on payrolls declined by 730K in July than in March. Other data showed that the average earnings without bonus declined by 0.2% and 1.2% with bonuses included. The data came ahead of the important GDP, manufacturing, and industrial production data.

The New Zealand dollar wavered as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) started its monetary policy meeting. The bank will deliver its interest rate decision tomorrow. Analysts polled by Bloomberg expect that the bank will leave the interest rate unchanged at 0.25%. The governor is expected to be cautious as recent numbers have shown that the economy is making a modest recovery. Analysts will want to hear whether the bank still plans to implement negative interest rates as the governor had hinted at before.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair saw an intraday high of 1.1793, which is above the 50-day EMA on the four-hour chart. The price is above yesterday’s low of 1.1720. The RSI has moved from the low of 34 to the current 50.  Also, it seems like the pair is forming a horizontal channel as shown by the red lines. Therefore, the price is likely to continue rising as bulls aim for the upper side of the channel at 1.1910.

GBP/USD

The GBP/USD pair rose to an intraday high of 1.3105, which is higher than yesterday’s low of 1.3011. On the four-hour chart, the price has moved above the 50-day EMA. It has also moved above the middle line of the Bollinger Bands. Also, the two lines of the Stochastic Oscillator has risen close to the overbought level of 80. Therefore, the pair is likely to continue rising as bulls aim for the next resistance at 1.3187.

NZD/USD

The NZD/USD pair wavered ahead of the RBNZ interest rate decision. The pair is trading at 0.6612, which is slightly above this week’s low of 0.6577. On the four-hour chart, the price is below the short and medium-term moving averages. Like the EUR/USD pair, the NZD/USD has also formed a horizontal channel. Therefore, the price is likely to continue rising as bulls aim for the next resistance at 0.6690.