TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS MARKET BRIEFING:

• European stock exchanges digest ECB announcements
• Wall Street is still waiting for a stimulus package
• Chart of the day – USD/CHF: the dollar widens its losses

EUROPEAN STOCK EXCHANGES DIGEST ECB ANNOUNCEMENTS

European stock markets ended in scattered order on Thursday. A disappointing US economic indicator and unsurprising decisions by the European Central Bank, which has revised down its 2021 growth forecast, prompting investors to be cautious despite progress in coronavirus vaccines and rising oil prices.

The ECB announced new measures to support the economy and credit, starting with a €500 billion increase in its PEPP debt purchase programme, which was further extended by nine months. But it has also revised down its forecast of economic growth for the euro zone in 2021, to 3.9% against 5% forecast in September.

These two factors have overshadowed the news on preparations for vaccination campaigns against the coronavirus in several countries, including the United States and Canada.

Markets are also waiting for the conclusions of the European Council held in Brussels, in the hope of unblocking the file of the Union's recovery plan, or even progress on trade negotiations with Great Britain, extended until Sunday.

WALL STREET IS STILL WAITING FOR A STIMULUS PACKAGE

Wall Street, which has set records in recent weeks, ended Thursday in disorder awaiting tangible progress towards a new fiscal stimulus plan in the United States in the face of a persistent crisis illustrated by the rise in unemployment registrations last week, to 853,000.

This is their highest level in nearly three months against the backdrop of a continued acceleration of the epidemic due to the new coronavirus in the United States, which for the first time recorded more than 3,000 deaths in a single day on Wednesday.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's talk of progress in talks on a new stimulus package dampened the impact of the stronger-than-expected rise in U.S. jobless registrations to their highest level in nearly three months.

As a result, the Dow Jones lost 0.23% to 29,999.26 points. The Nasdaq fell 0.54% and the S&P 500 fell 0.13%.

Interested in clues? Discover our forecasts for the next 2 months by clicking here

Otherpoints on financial market news

• forex

The euro moved higher after the announcement of the ECB's decisions, disappointing for foreign exchange traders who had bet on a greater increase in monetary support. The pound sterling remains on a downward trend, still penalized by the risk of a failure of negotiations between London and Brussels.

• petroleum

In the oil market, optimism about vaccines far outweighs, at least temporarily obscuring fears of an imbalance between supply and demand, which were fuelled on Wednesday by the announcement of a surge in crude inventories in the United States.

Economic calendar of the day:

Find the full economic calendar to know all the upcoming economic events

TODAY'S CHART –USD/CHF: THE DOLLAR WIDENS ITS LOSSES

The US dollar has lead in the wing and fails to bounce back against the Swiss franc. Macroeconomic data continues to weigh on the greenback, so the pair plunged to its lowest level since January 2015.

Graphically, the market has just pushed its support to 0.88990, sellers may push the nail to come for the theoretical objective of exit range (in yellow) at 0.8815. There is no point in favour of a bullish recovery in the current context. As a result, we believe that usd/CHF should continue its plunge towards 0.8773 and then 0.8700 in the coming weeks.