Top 5 Fundamental Events on November 21st

Investing.com – Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, November 21:

1. Oil jumps to 3-week high on Putin freeze comments

Oil prices rallied to a three-week high on Monday, adding to last week’s strong gains after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he sees a “high probability” that an agreement to curb oil production will be reached at a meeting later this month.

Speaking at a news conference in Lima after an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Sunday, Putin said Russia is willing to freeze its crude oil output at current levels.

U.S. crude was up 87 cents, or 1.88%, to $47.23 a barrel by 5:55AM ET (10:55GMT), while Brent tacked on 88 cents, or 1.88%, to $47.73.

Prices jumped almost 5% last week on growing expectations that global oil producers will find a way to cap output at a meeting scheduled for the end of this month.

2. Dollar rally shows signs of fatigue

A rally in the U.S. dollar showed signs of fatigue early on Monday, after the greenback hit its highest level in nearly 14 years against a basket of major currencies in the previous session.

The dollar index was last down 0.35% at 101.06 in early trade, after climbing to 101.54 on Friday, a level not seen since April 2003.

Against the yen, the dollar was down 0.2% at 110.69, pulling back from a five-and-a-half month high of 111.19 touched earlier.

The euro was up 0.45% at 1.0637, bouncing off Friday’s 11-month lows of 1.0568.

Meanwhile, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury was down 1.4 basis points at 2.323%, retreating from a one-year high of 2.364% set late last week.

3. Global stocks mostly higher

U.S. stock markets pointed to modest gains at the open on Monday morning, ahead of a four-day Thanksgiving trading week. Wall Street will shut Thursday and then close early on Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to holiday shopping.

Meanwhile, European and U.K. stocks were broadly higher in mid-morning trade, as dollar strength took a breather and oil prices jumped.

Earlier, Asian shares closed mostly higher, with Japan’s Nikkei rising to a 10 1/2-month high, thanks to the weaker yen.

4. Fed rate hike odds approach 100%

According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, odds for a rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s December 13-14 meeting are at around 96%, up from 86% late last week, as markets wagered that increased fiscal spending and tax cuts under a Trump administration will spur economic growth and inflation.

A speech from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer at 8:00AM ET (13:00GMT) Monday is likely to draw attention.

5. ECB President Draghi speaks to European Parliament

ECB President Mario Draghi is due to testify about the European Central Bank’s Annual Report before the European Parliament, in Strasbourg on Monday at 16:00GMT (11:00AM ET).

Investors will be looking for indications that the ECB is moving towards boosting monetary stimulus at its December meeting.

While the ECB has not been clear about its bond-buying program plans, most economists expect the bank to announce an extension to its quantitative easing program beyond the originally-planned end date of March 2017.