Predictably volumes were down today ahead of Tuesday's Australia Day holiday. Despite this, the ASX200 edged higher, up 0.26% reflecting a broadly positive session across Asia as financial markets weigh up the risks of ongoing bullishness. Financials made modest gains, while the materials sector was mixed although the big miners performed strongly. A sharp drop in oil prices hit energy stocks. On the currency front, the greenback paused its decline amid concerns over the COVID-19 variant in the UK and the effectiveness of the vaccine. This comes ahead of the US Federal Reserve's first policy meeting of the year this week. Analysts are forecasting that the dip in the US dollar will extend further with the central bank expected to remain committed to highly accommodative monetary policy.  

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