Paris, Dec 27 (AFP\/APP):US and eurozone stock markets advanced on Monday, shrugging off lingering fears over the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant after the Christmas holiday.<\/p>\n
The highly mutated strain has fuelled a massive increase in cases across the globe, with countries reviving lockdowns, thousands of flights cancelled, and cruise ships returning to port with Covid-infected passengers.<\/p>\n
There is, however, a “belief that Omicron is going to be a nuisance but not a dire strait for the global economy — at least not for long,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.<\/p>\n
Wall Street was up in midday trading, with the S&P 500 rising by almost one percent as it built on last week’s record close, which had followed a raft of mostly decent US economic data.<\/p>\n
The US session opened a seven-day stretch starting just after Christmas, known as a historically strong season for stocks, a period marked by low trading volumes.<\/p>\n
But leading airlines such as United and Delta dropped following mass flight cancellations due to infections or quarantines among airline and airport staff.<\/p>\n
Eurozone markets closed higher while Asian markets finished down. London and Hong Kong were closed for holidays.<\/p>\n
“Investors are continuing to shake off concerns regarding the Omicron variant following reports that the risk of hospitalisation is much lower compared to previous variants,” said a note by Schwab analysts.<\/p>\n
A study released Sunday showed US consumers were in the mood to spend over the holiday season, with retail sales soaring 8.5 percent over last year.<\/p>\n
Online sales were up 11 percent and in-store sales up 8.1 percent between November 1 and Christmas Eve, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse study.<\/p>\n
“Consumers splurged throughout the season,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO of Saks Incorporated.<\/p>\n
– Key figures around 1655 GMT –<\/p>\n
New York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 36,159.69 points
\nFrankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 15,835.25
\nParis – CAC 40: UP 0.8 at 7,140.39
\nLondon – FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,372.10 points (Friday close)
\nTokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 28,676.46 (close)
\nHong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 23,223.76 (Friday close)
\nShanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.06 percent at 3,615.97 (close)
\nEuro\/dollar: UP at $1.1328 from $1.1319
\nPound\/dollar: UP at $1.3435 from $1.3400
\nEuro\/pound: DOWN at 84.32 pence from 84.47 pence
\nDollar\/yen: UP at 114.85 from 114.47 yen
\nWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.7 percent at $75.80 per barrel
\nBrent North Sea crude: UP 3.4 percent at $78.76 per barrel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paris, Dec 27 (AFP\/APP):US and eurozone stock markets advanced on Monday, shrugging off lingering fears over the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant after the Christmas holiday. The highly mutated strain has fuelled a massive increase in cases across the globe, with countries reviving lockdowns, thousands of […]<\/p>\n
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