Johnson & Johnson goes to trial its experimental Covid-19 vaccine

Ross J Burland FXStreet

Johnson & Johnson is reported to trial its experimental Covid-19 vaccine with 6,000 UK volunteers on a two-dose basis in a phase 3 trial

If successful, the next step would be to approach regulators for approval.

This is good news for markets in anticipation of a return to normality when the vaccines are distributed to the populations.

it follows last week's game-changer with the press release from Pfizer and BioNTech that said they had identified 94 cases of COVID-19 among 43,538 trial participants.

The threshold that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says is required for a coronavirus vaccine to be approved for emergency use is just 50% and so far, the trial is proving a 90% success rate.

Meanwhile, there are still uncertainties as to the details about the nature of the infections the vaccine can protect against.

Market implications

Nevertheless, markets are pricing in a best-case scenario.

GBP/USD holds above 1.3350 with the 200-day SMA capping gains

The British Pound appreciates against the US Dollar on Tuesday to trim previous losses and return to the 1.3375 area, aiming to retest resistance at the key 200-day Simple Moving Average. This is a popular indicator, which lies a few pips below 1.3400 and has been capping Pound’s recovery over the last two weeks.

EUR/USD consolidates gains above 1.1400

Following an earlier move to multi-day peaks past 1.1460, EUR/USD has now slipped back toward the low 1.1400s as the NA session draws to a close on Tuesday. Declining bets for potential Fed tightening later in the year coupled with poor US CPI data hurt the US Dollar, lending fresh legs to the pair and the broader risk-linked universe. Moving forward, the release of US PPI and Chair Warsh’s second testumony should keep investors entertained on Wednesday.

Gold battles to recover the $4,100 mark

Gold reverses the recent weakness and reclaims the area beyond the key $4,000 mark per troy ounce on Tuesday. The precious metal’s recovery picks up pace and approaches the $4,100 region following the Greenback’s decline and comments from the Fed’s Warsh.

Bitcoin, crypto market post gains following weaker US inflation reading

The crypto market posted gains on Tuesday following the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for June, which showed that inflation cooled below market expectations. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual inflation slowed to 3.5% in June from 4.2% in May, marking its first decline in five months and coming in below the consensus forecast of 3.8%.

Fed Chair Warsh reaffirms they will deliver price stability

While testifying on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the US House Financial Services Committee, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh reiterated that the Fed is making a commitment on price stability and the goal of 2% inflation.

Five sessions, one round trip: Why the whipsaw is exactly what Warsh ordered

Markets opened July with a December hike as the base case and spent five trading sessions unlearning and relearning it. A 57K payrolls print bled the tightening bets out of the strip; a re-shut Strait of Hormuz is pushing them back in. Wednesday's minutes from the June FOMC meeting landed mid-round-trip, describing a world that had already stopped existing.