TRENDING:

XAU/USD

EUR/USD

Wake Up Wall Street (SPY) (QQQ): Joe Manchin, Omicron play equity grinches

Ivan Brian FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Friday, December 17:

Equity markets retreated on Thursday as renewed fears over Omicron hit sentiment and Build Back Better looks unlikely to pass this year if at all. Infrastructure and green stocks were disproportionally knocked down a peg, and Tesla (TSLA) nearly reached our $910 target. President Biden and Senator Manchin are reportedly still miles away from reaching an agreement on the plan. This will hit stocks further in the new year if not sorted soon.

The Nasdaq was the big loser, index wise, on Thursday, as rate hike probabilities fed through to institutional investor positioning. Yield sensitive, unprofitable names will likely struggle, but so-called new defensives also struggled. The poster child for this new breed of cash-rich, defensive stocks, Apple (AAPL) fell 4% on Thursday.

The dollar, meanwhile, has reset and is stronger this morning at 1.1310 versus the euro. Bitcoin is $47,100, and oil is at $71.19, despite Goldman forecasting record demand for 2022 and 2023.

See Forex Today.

European markets are lower: Eurostoxx -0.85, FTSE +0.2% and Dax -15.

US futures are lower: S&P -0.6%, Dow -0.45 and Nasdaq -1%.

Wall Street (SPY) (QQQ) news

Record high for UK covid cases on Thursday.

Rivian (RIVN): Q3 earnings and production shortfall see stock fall 9%.

Tesla (TSLA): Elon sells more stock.

Apple (AAPL) slides 4% on Thursday.

FedEx (FDX) up 5% on reinstating 2022 forecasts.

Darden Restaurants (DRI) earnings beat on the top and bottom lines. CEO to retire in May.

Freshpet (FRPT) down 11% on lower guidance.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Moderna (MRNA), Pfizer (PFE), BioNTech (BNTX): US FDA recommends booster shots use only Moderna or Pfizer. JNJ down 2% premarket.

Novavax (NVAX): WHO issues emergency use listing.

US Steel (X) issues lower guidance than forecast, falls 4%.

Affirm (AFRM) down 2% as US launches probe into Buy Now Pay Later credit.

Cerner (CERN) up 18% on WSJ article that Oracle (ORCL) is in talks to buy it.

Upgrades and downgrades

Source: Benzinga Pro

Economic releases

Like this article? Help us with some feedback by answering this survey:

Premium

You have reached your limit of 3 free articles for this month.

Start your subscription and get access to all our original articles.

Subscribe to Premium Sign In

Author

Ivan Brian

FXStreet

Ivan Brian started his career with AIB Bank in corporate finance and then worked for seven years at Baxter. He started as a macro analyst before becoming Head of Research and then CFO.

EUR/USD: Cautiously optimistic near 1.1550 ahead of the ECB

EUR/USD extends its weekly recovery for the third day in a row on Wednesday, navigating in a sidelined fashion around 1.1550 on the back of humble losses in the US Dollar. In the meantime, market participants continue to closely follow developments in the Middle East while slowly gearing up for the ECB gathering on Thursday.

GBP/USD recedes from tops, hovers around 1.3400

GBP/USD could not sustain the initial bull run and is now slipping back toward the 1.3400 neighbourhood on Wednesday. Cable’s continuation of the ongoing leg higher follows mild selling pressure on the Greenback, despite steady uncertainty on the geopolitical front and elevated US inflation.

Gold bleeding continues as Middle East crisis escalates, Fed hike coming

Gold is accelerating its downward trends and approaches the area of $4,100 per troy ounce on Wednesday, where the 2026 bottom sits so far. The persistent decline in the precious metal almost exclusively follows the swelling opinion that the Fed will keep a cautious stance in H2, a view that was reinforced following earlier US CPI data.

$1,500: Why Ethereum just crashed 20% despite spot markets barely selling

Ethereum (ETH) recently suffered one of its sharpest declines of 2026, dropping more than 20% and briefly testing the $1,500 area. While the sell-off appeared to reflect broader market fears, derivatives and on-chain data suggest a more complex story may be unfolding beneath the surface.

Brutal sell-off: Silver deepens months-long slide, refocusing on $60

Silver has never been known for its calm temperament. The precious metal can spend weeks grinding higher before suddenly giving back months of gains in a matter of days. That volatile reputation has been on full display in recent weeks.

The US economy defies the rules: 100 days into the Oil shock and the recession signal is still missing

More than three months after the start of the Iran war and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, the US economy continues to display remarkable resilience. The conflict has triggered a sharp rise in Oil prices, reignited inflationary pressures and fueled widespread concerns about a potential economic slowdown.