European session review: USD mixed as investors weigh positive news about coronavirus treatment against concerns about rising COVID-19 cases

USD traded mixed against other major currencies in the European session on Monday as investors weighed positive reports about vaccine candidates against the novel coronavirus and rising coronavirus cases. USD rose against JPY, CHF, GBP and NZD, but fell against EUR, CAD and AUD. 

Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) announced today that two of their for COVID-19  vaccine candidates received "Fast Track" designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This news bolstered further investor optimism about potential coronavirus treatment, which was initially ignited by Gilead Sciences' (GILD) Friday report that its antiviral drug remdesivir reduces sharply the risk of death for coronavirus patients.

Meanwhile, the situation with coronavirus remains a concern. The U.S. has reported more than 60,000 new cases daily for three days in a row now. Overall, the U.S. has 3,304,942 cases of COVID-19, the most in the world, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Deaths in the country increased to 135,205, also the most in the world. The total number of confirmed global coronavirus cases rose to 12,910,357 and deaths grew to 569,128.

Market participants also looked to the upcoming U.S. corporate earnings season for Q2, which is to kick off this week and is expected to reveal the steepest decline in quarterly earnings for S&P 500 companies since the financial crisis as coronavirus-induced lockdowns hurt corporate profits.