Market risk sentiment picked up, European stocks opened lower and higher, while U. S. stock index futures recovered some of their previous losses.
As of press time, Dow futures are down 0.2%, the S & P 500 is down 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures are up 0.2%.
European stock markets opened lower and higher, with Germany's DAX30 index, the UK's FTSE 100index, France's CAC40 index, Italy's FTSE MIB index and the European Stoxx 600index rising 0.4 per cent, 0.5 per cent, 0.5 per cent, 0.8 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.
The dollar index fluctuated around 92.40.
Gold fluctuated around 1865 after approaching the $1870 / oz mark at one point. Gold prices are likely to fall for a second straight week this week.
The overall market mood remains cautious because, despite a spate of good news from the vaccine, the grim situation of the global COVID-19 epidemic and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's decision to let several of the Fed's emergency loan programs expire on December 31 will significantly reduce the Fed's ability to support the financial system.
Barclays and UBS issued bullish calls
Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG, said: "the temporary rally in European stocks this morning seems to maintain the ongoing consolidation phase, as the market has stagnated after the rise in vaccine prices over the past two Mondays." Bullish calls from Barclays and UBS also boosted stocks.
Analysts from Barclays' European equity strategy team advised their clients to buy stocks against the backdrop of recent share prices, "because the unwinding of two years of safe-haven investments may have just begun."
In addition, UBS asked its wealthiest clients to put more money into the stock market. Interest rates are likely to remain at record low levels next year, given high global debt levels, UBS Wealth Management said in a report on Friday. Therefore, investors should seek returns other than cash.
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management (UBS Global Wealth Management), said: "We believe that the possibility of persistent financial repression highlights the importance of holding 'real' assets such as equities."
"We recommend that investors seek long-term and long-term growth and consider improving returns by investing in private markets."
The Treasury Secretary decided to let several of the Fed's emergency loan programs expire on December 31.
Treasury Secretary Nuchin's decision to allow several of the Fed's emergency loan programs to expire on December 31 will significantly reduce the Fed's ability to support the financial system. But the Fed will still have considerable lending power if the financial system is hit, according to people familiar with the matter.
Lachlan Sha, commodities research at NAB, said that if the Fed did start to reduce its assistance programs, it would be bad for gold. Currency depreciation factors that are good for gold may disappear.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Nuchin will not extend the Federal Reserve program using funds from the Congressional Health Care Act. The plans were set up in response to the financial panic in the spring, allowing the Fed to lend up to $4.5 trillion to various financial markets. Nuchin believes that the intention of Congress is to let these funds expire.
Nuchin demanded that the Fed immediately stop using some emergency tools, including two tools to buy corporate bonds in the primary and secondary markets, Municipal Liquidity Facility;, a tool to buy state and local government bonds, Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility;, a tool to keep asset-backed securities liquid, and Main Street Lending Program, a tool to support loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.
In an unusual statement, the Fed publicly disagreed with the decision, saying that "the Fed hopes that the entire set of emergency facilities established during the coronavirus pandemic will continue to play an important role in supporting our still nervous and fragile economy."
Ben Emons, head of global macro strategy at Medley Global Advisors, said the withdrawal of some of the tools had prompted markets to expect the Fed to take other policy actions on December 16. The market now speculates that the Fed may have to increase its Treasury purchases or extend the maturity of securities it buys through its major asset purchase program.
Isaac Boltansky, head of policy research at the Compass Point Research and Trading, said bluntly that the Fed's role had been weakened at a time when the US economic recovery was not yet solid, which was absurd and that the move "injected uncertainty and instability into the market completely unnecessarily".
Pfizer Inc will submit an application for emergency use authorization of COVID-19 vaccine to FDA.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech will apply to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization for the coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer Inc's announcement on Friday came two days after the company said that final data analysis found that its coronavirus vaccine containing BioNTech was 95% effective in preventing Covid-19, was safe and seemed to protect against serious diseases.
The final analysis assessed the diagnosis of Covid infection in more than 43000 participants in a later trial. The companies said they saw 162 cases of Covid in the placebo group and eight in the two-dose vaccine group. This gives the vaccine an estimated 95% effectiveness, they say.
Pfizer Inc was the first applicant to apply for emergency use authorization from FDA in the Covid-19 vaccine competition. Its vaccine contains genetic material called messenger RNA or messenger RNA, which scientists hope will stimulate the immune system to fight the virus. The vaccine needs to be stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, which could pose a challenge to widespread distribution. By contrast, Moderna Inc's vaccine must be stored at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit.
If Pfizer Inc's application is approved by the FDA, the vaccine will be launched in several stages, starting with health workers, the elderly and people with potential health problems. Staff, teachers, the homeless and people in prison may be next on the list, followed by children and young people. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert in the United States, says all Americans will have access to the vaccine in April or July next year.
Focus stocks
Gilead Sciences Inc fell more than 2% before the session, World Health Organization (WHO) said it is not recommended to use the antiviral drug Redcivir to treat COVID-19.
BEST INC fell nearly 7% before trading, and his net loss widened sharply in the third quarter.
Germany's CureVac rose more than 2% before trading, and the European Union agreed to buy 225 million doses of candidate COVID-19 vaccine from the company at a price of 10 euros ($11.80) per dose.
Biotech, a German drug company, rose nearly 6% before trading, and the European Union agreed to buy its 300 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech for $18.3 a dose.
A vice president of Intel Corp was poached by Apple Inc and will join Apple Inc next year and become vice president.
Elliott is reported to have made an offer of US $872 million to Aryzta, a supplier to McDonald's Corp.
Needham, an investment bank, raised its target price for Uber from $50 to $60.
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Yatsen, the parent company of perfect Diary, expanded its pre-market gains to 10 per cent and closed up more than 75 per cent on its first day of trading yesterday.
360 pre-market growth expanded to 10%, and net profit in the third quarter expanded by 43.4% compared with the same period last year.
Bilibili Inc. rose about 2% before trading, and its share price is set to break through the $60 mark at the start of trading. It has risen more than 200% so far this year.
The pre-market decline of eggshell apartments widened to 11%.
Kaixinqic changed before the market and is now up more than 10%.