U.S. stocks are in the green to open the second full trading week of July. At the midway point of the session, the DJIA DOW (+445), S&P 500 SPX (+42), and NASDAQ (+172) are trending higher. For the time being, investors are foregoing panic over a resurgence of COVID-19 infections. Instead, optimism over a potential vaccine is driving today’s gains.

The big COVID-19 news of the day is a pending vaccine from medical company Moderna. Reports that an FDA approval of the vaccine may be coming sometime in early 2021. This is positive news as new infections are exploding in Florida, California, and Texas. As the fall months draw near, the pandemic is showing no signs of receding.

On the economic news front, today has been relatively quiet. The weekly short-term U.S. Treasuries Auction has been held, with yields of the 3 and 6-Month T-bills falling to 0.145%. For the time being, it looks like market participants are trading with a bit of caution. However, optimistic sentiment is dominating today’s action. 

USD Trading Firm To Open The Week

The USD is putting in a decent showing to open the week. Strength vs the Japanese yen has been an early forex highlight for the Greenback. Rates have rallied above 107.00 and are testing daily topside resistance.

Here are two levels worth watching for the remainder of the trading day:

• Resistance(1): Bollinger MP, 107.23
• Resistance(2): Daily SMA, 107.38

Bottom Line: If the USD/JPY extends its daily range, I’ll have sell orders in the queue from 107.34. With an initial stop loss at 107.52, this trade produces 25 pips on a better-than-1:1 risk vs reward management plan.