• Last Friday saw the benchmark broad U.S. stock market index, the S&P 500, close at an all-time high. The index is likely to rise further over coming days. Tech is also strong and near a record high (SPX).

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• In the Forex market, the USD has the greatest long-term strength of any major currency right now (UUP), although its short-term advance has paused. Over the shorter term, the New Zealand dollar is the strongest currency while the Swiss franc is the weakest.
• WTI Crude Oil futures have traded at a new 2.5-year high price today well above $74. The price looks likely to rise higher over the coming days (OIL).
• Last week saw the first weekly rise in global new confirmed coronavirus cases, suggesting that the pandemic is advancing again due to the spread of the more highly infectious Delta (Indian) variant.
• It is estimated that 22.6% of the world’s population has received at least one vaccination against the novel coronavirus.
• Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 181.8 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.19%.
• The fastest progression in terms of immunizing a population against the coronavirus in all but the smallest states has been in Iceland, Bermuda, Kuwait, Bhutan, Israel, Chile, Uruguay, and Canada, which have given at least one shot to between 76% and 63% of their respective populations. For most of the world, a vaccine still remains distant. However, the pace of vaccination in the European Union, which now has immunized 49% of its population, has picked up significantly. In the U.S., 53% of the population has been vaccinated (EZU).
• The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Algeria, Bangladesh, Burma, Colombia, Cuba, Fiji, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, and the United Kingdom (despite its high level of vaccination).