Financial market research and analysis

Bitcoin alongside other major cryptocurrencies dived double digits in a huge Thanksgiving sell-off after coming close to the record high set in December 2017

MARKETS
News
• Asia-Pacific markets are little changed this morning. Bitcoin and altcoins are stable following yesterday's crypto-carnage.
• U.S. oil prices extended their declines from a seven-month high due to signs of oversupply;
• President Donald Trump says he will leave White House if Electoral College votes for Joe Biden. Outgoing US president still insists he won 2020 election but hints at possible concession;
• China’s industrial profits surged 28.2% year-on-year in October, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics announced Friday;
• China to impose temporary anti-dumping measures on Australian wine imports;
• Singapore’s co-developed vaccine candidate in ‘good shape’ for delivery in 2021;
• Amazon gives front-line workers a $300 holiday bonus amid threat of Black Friday strikes;
• Facebook to reimburse some advertisers after miscalculating effectiveness data.

What Else?
• Hungary and Poland harden stance in EU budget stand-off: Viktor Orban and Mateusz Morawiecki restate opposition to plan that ties bloc funds to rule of law;
• Doubts raised over AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine data: Oxford university acknowledges error that forced trial to switch dosing regimens;
• Portugal’s 10-year bond yield drops below zero: Expectations that the ECB will expand its emergency asset purchase program drives debt rally up;
• Qatar to buy stake in Istanbul stock exchange: Series of deals reaffirm Doha’s support for Ankara as Turkey’s economy struggles;
• Delta and Alitalia to launch ‘quarantine free’ flights from US to Italy: Airlines open first travel corridor between the two continents since Covid rules were introduced;
• U.S Supreme Court blocks covid-19 restrictions on religious Services in New York;
• U.S. Airports see busiest travel day since March: More than one million travelers were screened at U.S. airports Wednesday, marking the busiest air-travel day since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in mid-March;
• Merkel calls for closure of ski resorts across EU: German chancellor’s appeal aimed at preventing Covid spread but faces opposition from Austria;
• ByteDance has reportedly been given another week to sell off TikTok’s U.S. business;
• Barclays predicts some stocks like BP could rally more than 50% next year.

Day Ahead
• Earnings: Pernod Ricard;
• Macro: Early Market Close (1 p.m. EST) for Day After Thanksgiving in the U.S; French GDP (Q3); Brazilian Unemployment Rate.

Quote of the day
““My wife Mary and I have been married for forty-seven years and not once have we had an argument serious enough to consider divorce; murder, yes, but divorce, never.”
– Jack Benny.

WRAP
U.S. financial markets were closed Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday so trading volumes were likely to be low. European stocks closed little changed as investors paused for breath after a global rally in recent sessions. Shares of AstraZeneca slipped 0.6% as questions are raised over the way Astrazeneca and Oxford University tested their coronavirus vaccine. Bitcoin plunged as much as 13 per cent following record-breaking session. Other crypto-currencies suffered massive losses as well. Gold gained as weak U.S. jobs data, virus worries dim recovery hopes.