The Russia-Ukraine war enters its 8th day while the second round of talks is reportedly set to take place today. The Russian negotiator says a ceasefire is on the agenda at Ukraine talks. Both the countries had agreed on the Brest region in western Belarus as the venue for the talks. Russian and Ukrainian officials met on Monday on the border between Belarus and Ukraine, but the ceasefire talks failed to reach a breakthrough.

EQUITIES

European shares remain under pressure after the release of weaker-than-expected services PMI data from the Eurozone and Germany. On the other hand, the bearish sentiment is also driven by the negative comments from ECB Governing Council member Kazaks. He said, "inflation will most likely remain higher than initially thought, and of course, these restrictions and higher prices will decrease economic growth."

OIL

Crude oil futures climb new highs on Thursday. Brent crude hits the highest level since June 2014, while US crude touches the highest since August 2013. While the oil prices slightly reversed from the daily highs as Russian and Ukrainian officials began ceasefire talks and Western countries ramped up sanctions against Moscow.

CURRENCIES

In the currency market, the Canadian dollar advanced against the US dollar and Euro following the Bank of Canada interest rate decision. The EURUSD retreated back to near the previous session low after the release of weak macroeconomic data.

GOLD

The Safe-haven metal struggled to find the upside momentum after the hawkish Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony. At the time of writing, the metal trades below $1930.

Economic Outlook

On the data front, the Bank of Canada decided to increase the interest rate from 0.25% to 0.5%. The central bank said it expects inflation to be higher in the near term than previously thought. “Economic growth in Canada was very strong in the fourth quarter,” – Bank of Canada said.

Moving ahead today, the important events to watch:

US – Services PMI: GMT – 14.45

US – ISM services PMI: GMT – 15.00

Coronavirus update:

Worldwide, more than 435 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 5.91 million have died. The United States has confirmed over 78 million cases and has had more than 930,000 deaths from COVID-19, the highest totals in the world.

Technical Outlook and Review

EURUSD: For today, the immediate support is near 1.1050. Any break and close below 1.1050, the next support levels to watch 1.1020/00. On the flip side, the first resistance at 1.1140 any break above this level will open 1.1190/1.1220 minimum.

The important levels to watch for today: Support- 1.1050 and 1.1020 Resistance- 1.1110 and 1.1150.

GOLD: For today, the resistance for gold is around 1940, any break over targets 1950/55. On the other side, the immediate support is at 1920 and any break will drag the Index to 1914 and 1900 levels.

The important levels to watch for today: Support- 1920 and 1900 Resistance- 1940 and 1955.

Quote of the day - "To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realize; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks." – Benjamin Graham.