European equity’s opened higher on Wednesday as the European Union is set to launch new regulation for the financial sector during the day, with the introduction of MiFID II.
Nasdaq and S&P500 record intraday and closing highs on the first trading day of the year. Wall Street expects a strong year for equities.
USD got some respite as euro took a breather. EUR/USD is down 0.2 percent to 1.2032 and AUD/USD down 0.175 percent to near 0.7805. The Dollar index against a basket of six major rivals held steady around 91.90, after pulling away from Tuesday's 3-1/2 month low of 91.751.
Commodities came off the highs from previous session but remained buoyant. Gold slipped a quarter percentage point overnight, slipping from yesterday’s highs, but trades at 1314$ per ounce. Silver under pressure, down 0.65 percent following a 1.49 percent gain yesterday. Commodity-linked currencies were muted overnight after rallying considerably in recent weeks lifted by soaring gold and oil prices. USD/CAD slipped 0.10 percent to 1.2520.
Asian shares soared to record highs, lifted by strong risk- appetite driven by a batch of strong manufacturing data across the globe.
Geopolitical tensions supported Crude oil prices, as they rose to their best level since mid-2015. Prices rose as violent protests continue in Iran, which have so far resulted in more than a dozen deaths. Despite concerns that the unrest would disrupt Iranian supply of oil, this has not yet materialized, relieving such fears.
