Global Stocks Jump as Traders Ease Worries Over Omicron
Global stocks advance on Tuesday as market mood shifts to positive after Omicron concerns fade. Bitcoin back above $51K.
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Principal Points
- Stocks in Europe and the US advance for a second straight day after last week’s dip
- Bitcoin tops $51,000 as major crypto assets stage a comeback rally after a weekend slide
What’s Moving in the Markets?
Stocks in Europe and the US rose broadly to start the trading week as investors ease their Omicron fears. This said, Wall Street equities rallied on Monday with travel stocks in the lead. In anticipation of loosened travel rules and perhaps no harsh lockdowns, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.9% on Monday.
Also, the broad-based S&P500 index rose 1.2%, erasing its 0.8% loss on Friday when global markets dipped. Additionally, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9% Monday, led higher by major tech names.
Early on Tuesday, European markets opened on a strongly positive note. In more detail, the pan-European Stoxx 600 soared 1.5% in the first hour of trading today. Moreover, every major index in the old continent was higher by over 1% in the first deals of the day.
What’s the Big Picture for Traders?
Similarly to the US, Europe’s markets ticked higher as fears over the Omicron variant faded. To this end, upbeat data on the Covid-19 situation suggested existing vaccines offered “a considerable degree of protection” against Omicron.
More specifically, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US President’s chief medical advisor, said data on Omicron is “a bit encouraging.” While it was too early to tell, he said he was optimistic about the initial research.
“We really gotta be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or really doesn’t cause any severe illness comparable to Delta. But thus far the signals are a bit encouraging,” Dr. Fauci said in an interview with CNN. “It does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it.”
What to Watch in the Markets?
Meanwhile, financial markets continue swinging in a volatile fashion across the board. The US dollar is seen to appreciate against major currencies in the forex market. As a result, the USD/JPY is rallying for a second-straight day. The currency pair is presently gravitating toward 114.00 after sliding to levels near 112.54 last week.
In cryptocurrency trading, the price of bitcoin is quickly moving the upside this week. After a major drop wiped out more than 20% from bitcoin’s valuation in a few hours on Saturday, the coin has recovered remarkably.
Presently, the original cryptocurrency is trading near $51,500 per token. In other words, it has already pared most of its losses from its weekend low of $42,000. To this end, bitcoin needs about $2,500 more to erase the entire weekend drop.
Ether, on the other hand, is now well above its price levels even before the drop. More precisely, the Ethereum network’s native coin has gained 26% and has more than recovered from its weak performance on Saturday.
With this in mind, the price of Ether is now hovering near $4,400 per token, up about 3% on the day.
Economic Data Coming Up Today (EST times)
In economic news today, the economy of Japan will publish its gross domestic product (GDP) data Tuesday at 06:50 pm. The news could increase the volatility in the Japanese yen, specifically the USD/JPY pair. In turn, this could create trading opportunities for traders in the forex market.