In the first business day of 2021, the financial markets are already abuzz, though many of the end-of-the-year trends are carrying over.
With less than three weeks left until Joe Biden is inaugurated as President, Donald Trump continues his plans to somehow overturn the election by invalidating Biden’s win. According to a call leaked by the Washington Post, Trump had a one-hour call with the Georgia Secretary of State, asking the official to announce that the results from Georgia were incorrect, despite three separate counts finding them to be in favor of Biden. Trump threatened the Secretary of State that he would accuse him of committing a crime unless he somehow changes the results.
At this point, Trump cannot actually affect the outcome from the November presidential elections. Even the Republican Party has acknowledged the loss. However, this could be a PR stunt to rally Republican support for the Georgia Senate seat run-offs tomorrow. The final results from Georgia will decide whether the Republican Party keeps or loses its majority in the Senate.
Across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom became the pioneer of a second coronavirus vaccine, the one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The UK was the first country to start vaccinations with the Pfizer vaccine, and will now continue to administer both vaccines. The kingdom is currently struggling with its worst Covid-19 outbreak to date, in light of identifying a new, highly contagious strain recently. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a national lockdown soon as hospitals in London have already reached maximum capacity.
Germany was already in a strict lockdown but is also likely to announce an extension to it until the end of January due to a persistently high infection rate. France, who is also struggling with the pandemic, is not under such restrictions but is going to expand its curfew to further encourage people to stay at home.
Still, investors appear confident that any bad news related to the coronavirus will be short-lived. They are optimistically putting their trust in risky assets, so we are seeing growth in US stock indices and the euro today, while the US dollar is weakening. Metals and crude oil, which are quoted in USD, are increasing in price.
