Markets Week Ahead: Nasdaq 100, US Dollar, Gold, Euro, British Pound, Fed, ECB, BoE

Markets Week Ahead: Nasdaq 100, US Dollar, Gold, Euro, British Pound, Fed, ECB, BoE

Market mood recovered this past week around the world. On Wall Street , the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 gained 3. 82% and 3. 65% respectively. Across the Atlantic, the Euro Stoxx 50 and FTSE 100 climbed 2. 95% and 2. 62% respectively. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0. 89% while Australia's ASX 200 jumped 4. 05%. Volatility was crushed, with the VIX market 'fear gauge' sinking about 39% in the worst week since June 2016. Concerns about the Omicron Covid-19 variant faded amid preliminary reports that the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine neutralized Omicron with a third dosage . Towards the end of this past week, an in-line US CPI report, showing inflation around a 40-year high , did little to further boost hawkish Federal Reserve monetary policy expectations. Sentiment also remained intact despite Evergrande, a troubled Chinese property giant, being declared in default following two missed coupon payments this past week. Taking a look at foreign exchange markets, the haven-linked US Dollar broadly underperformed. The Australian Dollar saw the best weekly gain against the Greenback since August. Similarly, the anti-risk Japanese Yen weakened. Growth-linked crude oil prices soared, with WTI seeing its best 5-day gains since late