Equities Mixed On Eve Of Biden Inauguration

European stock markets were generally softer Tuesday following a strong showing in Asia ahead of keenly awaited comments from US Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jan, 2021 ):European stock markets were generally softer Tuesday following a strong showing in Asia ahead of keenly awaited comments from US Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen.

In New York, however, the Dow Jones index showed a modest increase as trading kicked in after markets were closed on Monday.

The dollar was mixed on the eve of Joe Biden's inauguration as US president, with all eyes on his vast $1.9-trillion stimulus plan.

Oil prices gained on optimism over the global economic recovery and vaccine rollouts that are offsetting concerns about the emergence of new, apparently more contagious strains of the novel coronavirus.

- 'A little optimistic' - The key event this week is Biden's inauguration on Wednesday, with the Democrat vowing swift action to fight pandemic fallout and boost the ailing US economy.

But before that, investors wanted to hear Yellen tell US lawmakers that the world's top economy could suffer if they do not approve Biden's stimulus package.

"The mood in Europe is a little optimistic... as traders look ahead to Janet Yellen's testimony," said analyst David Madden at trading firm CMC Markets UK.

Yellen "is tipped to tell politicians the government needs to 'act big' as a way to support the economy." The global number of coronavirus cases rose to more than 95 million this week while deaths have topped two million, putting pressure on governments to distribute vaccines rapidly, while at the same time imposing strict, economically painful lockdowns.

Traders were also looking ahead to US corporate earnings, including from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and home entertainment giant Netflix.

"As has been the case for the last week or so, markets are lacking any real direction," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

"Perhaps we are just seeing a holding pattern ahead of the inauguration and in anticipation of a flurry of earnings reports." - Key figures around 1500 GMT - New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 30,920.12 points London - FTSE 100: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 6,716.84 Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP less than 0.1 percent at 13,854.94 Paris - CAC 40: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 5,614.54 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,605.33 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 28,633.46 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 2.7 percent at 29,642.28 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,566.38 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2126 from $1.2077 at 2200 GMT on Monday Dollar/yen: UP at 103.99 yen from 103.69 yen Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3608 from $1.3587 Euro/pound: UP at 89.11 pence from 88.89 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $52.80 per barrelBrent North Sea crude: UP 1.8 percent at $55.72 per barrel