The New Zealand dollar rose on Monday, on hopes about safe coronavirus vaccines.

New Zealand is one the fewest countries that has been able to contain the coronavirus spread, however fears a second wave of infections remain.

The global coronavirus death toll is now close to one million victims, after rising to 900,000 victims recently.

Pfizer announced that the clinical trails for its Covid-19 vaccine in cooperation with BioNTech is near the end.

Pfizer added that the US will be provided with an effective vaccine before the end of 2020, but did not mention a specific date.

Bearing in mind that a slew of big biotech firms are intensifying their efforts to develop effective Covid-19 vaccines.

As of 17:26 GMT, NZD/USD rose 0.6% to 0.6712, after hitting an intraday high of 0.6719, and a low of 0.6659.

US stock indices opened higher on Monday, amid optimism in the markets about coronavirus vaccines.

Wall Street suffered sharp losses during the past week, after a huge sell-off wave on tech shares.

Major companies such as Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson announced continuing their trails on promising Covid-19 vaccines.

Pfizer stated that it is collaborating with BioNTech to provide an effective vaccine for the US before the end of 2020 at least.

Bearing in mind that US President Donald Trump said earlier this month that the US might have an effective and safe Covid-19 vaccine by October.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 1.3% or 383 points to 28,049 as of 15:20 GMT, Nasdaq rose 2.3% or 250 points to 11,099 , and S&P 500 rose 1.7% or 58 points to 3,399.

The US dollar fell on Monday against a basket of major currencies, to deepen its losses for the second straight day, due to improved investors sentiment, thanks to news about one of the strongly recommended Covid-19 vaccines.

The dollar index fell 0.3% to 92.99 points, after opening at 93.19, and hit an intraday-high of 93.33.

The index lost 0.1% on Friday, posting its second daily loss in 3 days, on profit-taking from a 4-week high of 93.66 points.

 The US dollar gained 0.3% during the past week, posting its second straight weekly gain, on strong demand due to liquidity crunch fears amid a broad sell-off in the US tech sector's stocks.

Additionally, most global stocks rose today, especially in Asia and Europe, ahead of Wall Street opening, after news about one of the strongly recommended Covid-19 vaccines.

AstraZeneca has reportedly resumed the phase 3 of its coronavirus vaccine clinical trials, after the trials were suspended last week due to safety concerns.

Investors are anticipating the US Federal Reserve’s meeting, scheduled for tomorrow, and the decisions will be revealed on Wednesday, which will be the first appearance of Chairman Jerome Powell since he unveiled the US monetary policy historic shift at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which is aimed at allowing inflation to run above the Fed’s previous target to support the economic recovery from the coronavirus impact.

Brent crude continued to drop as the US market opened on Monday, to resume losses and drop below $40 near a 3-month low, weighed down by fears over the global demand due to rising coronavirus infections in many countries led by the US.

Brent crude fell 0.8% to $39.42, after opening at $39.72, and hit a high of $40.06.

Brent crude futures rose 0.25% on Friday, after gaining 2% on Thursday following the EIA's weekly report.

Oil prices lost around 5% during the past week, posting the second straight weekly loss due to renewed doubts about the global demand recovery.

Brent fell earlier last week to its lowest since June 16 at $39.34 a barrel, after an unexpected build in the US crude inventories.

The coronavirus crisis continues to deter the global market, as cases spiked in India, the UK, Spain and many parts of the US, which renewed concerns about the global fuel demand.

The Eurasia Consulting Group noted that the coronavirus outbreak threatens the global economic recovery hopes, which will weigh on demand for fuel, but low prices may lift refineries' profits.