Equities volatile as cases surge

Thursday started as another risk-off day and equities dived, mainly due to continuous rise in COVID cases in the US, but the dip was bought and indices were trading flattish during the US session.

Earlier in the day, stocks got a boost after Bloomberg reported that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC are have approved changes to the Volcker Rule, further easing its provisions, and allowing banks to increase their dealings with certain funds by providing more clarity on what’s allowed. 

The OCC also scrapped a requirement that lenders hold margin when trading derivatives with their affiliates, according to Bloomberg.

From other news, the last week saw 1.48 million more Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time (notably worse than the 1.32 mm expected). That brings the fourteen-week total to 47.25 million.

Moreover, the headline US durable soared 15.8% MoM – the most since July 2014. The monthly rise of 15.8% was better than the expected 10.% rise (but off a revised lower -18.8% drop in April).

Greenback remained bid today and the EURUSD pair dropped toward the 1.12 threshold, while the USDJPY traded above 107.00.