SLIGHT FALLING IN SIGHT IN EUROPE, OMICRON STILL WORRIES
by Blandine Henault
PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to drop slightly on Monday at the opening, in a market not very lively during this holiday season and made cautious by the spread of the Omicron variant.
Futures contracts indicate a decline of 0.24% for the Dax in Frankfurt and 0.29% for the EuroStoxx 50. The first indications available also give the Parisian CAC 40 down 0.3% in the period. opening.
The FTSE in London will remain closed on Monday, as will several other exchanges like Hong Kong and Sydney.
On Wall Street, closed Friday for Christmas Eve, futures contracts foreshadow a practically stable or even slightly bullish opening for the Nasdaq.
Investors were reassured last week by studies deemed encouraging on the virulence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which, however, has very concrete consequences. Health restriction measures are increasing in several countries and in the United States, a thousand flights were canceled on Sunday as many pilots and crew members were affected by COVID-19.
“Cases of Omicron are on the rise in the United States and Europe and, although the markets have indeed incorporated a less virulent strain, the disruption of goods and services due to the isolation of workers, especially in the airline industry. , seems to be the main consequence so far, “commented Jeffrey Halley, market analyst at Oanda.
IN ASIA
The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended down 0.37%, penalized by fears over Omicron and the downturn of Softbank (-2.96%) while Credit Suisse could consider legal action against the Japanese group as part of the Greensill case.
Mainland Chinese stock markets are also down slightly, after being for a time supported by the real estate sector after statements from the People’s Bank of China which promised to promote healthy development of the real estate market.
The CSI 300 drops 0.31% and the Shanghai Stock Exchange composite index is down 0.24%.
RATES / CHANGES
The variations are limited on the foreign exchange market, where the dollar takes 0.15% against a basket of benchmark currencies.
The euro is stable at 1.1315 dollars.
On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries dropped one basis point, to 1.4824%.
OIL
Crude prices fell, penalized by the wave of flight cancellations in the United States.
The barrel of Brent dropped 0.2% to 75.99 dollars and that of US light crude (WTI) lost 1.21% to 72.9 dollars.
NO MAJOR ECONOMIC INDICATOR ON THE AGENDA OF DECEMBER 27
(Blandine Hénault, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)