Summary:

• EUR advances despite somewhat disappointing Ifo release
• Sentiment on European stock markets is mixed, the Santa rally eases
• Ethereum (ETHUSD) and Dash (DSHUSD) rise to their new all-time highs

This morning we noted a further depreciation of the US dollar even despite the fact that passing the long-awaited has been an almost done deal. On the other hand, the single currency has managed to post some gains and the NZD has been on the rise ahead of a package of data from NZ economy. Stocks have been mixed and some cryptocurrencies (Ethereum and Dash) have reached new all-time highs. 

Irrespective of a slight miss seen in IFO business climate in December the EUR has been unimpressed continuing to march higher.  Notice that the prime reason for that increase could stem from a dollar’s side as there are some uncertainties if the Congress is able to pass the tax bill during today’s voting.  The business climate came in at 117.2 falling short of the median estimate at 117.5. Business expectations showed 109.5 against the consensus placed at 110.7. Last but not least, current assessment beat the street’s estimate (124.7) arriving at 125.4.

Monday brought solid gains on most of the global stock markets as it has seemed that the passing the long-awaited tax reform this week is a done deal. A more detailed analysis of the tax plan and its implications for S&P500 (US500 on xStation5) can be found here. However, the beginning of today’s session was calm, although the technical setup favours the bulls. As of time of writing the German DAX (DE30) is traded 0.11% hower, the French CAC40 (FRA40) is losing 0.15%. On the flipside, the UK FTSE100 (UK100) is on the rise adding 0.15%.

The Bitcoin price has settled down of late but we cannot say the same about other cryptocurrencies. This is especially true when it comes to Dash and Ethereum as both have already set their fresh highs. There were no specific reasons standing behind those increases nevertheless it’s worth writing about an interesting event which took place yesterday. COBINHOOD, a cryptocurrency service platform, announced on Monday the launch of the world’s first zero-fee and high-frequency digital currency trading platform. The platform will allow to monitor and trade Bitcoin and Ethereum albeit a range of virtual currencies will be broadened in the future.

The economic calendar on Tuesday is a bit more busy than yesterday. The investors should look ahead to the release of the US housing data that could suggest further strength in the economy. Moreover, the API estimates will set expectations for official oil inventory data. Note also that the US Congress could finally pass into law the long-awaited tax reform later today. NZD could be also an interesting currency in upcoming hours.