Global stock markets mixed as ommicron fears relief – WFTV

BEIJING – (AP) – Global stock markets were mixed on Friday after Wall Street hit a new high as fears over the ommicron variant of the coronavirus eased.

London opened higher, while Tokyo and Shanghai fell.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.6% on Thursday during its last trading session in the US before Christmas.

Investor fears mounted as ommicron spread, but eased after authorities said it could cause less serious illness. President Joe Biden called for more vaccinations and testing, but announced no plans for travel restrictions.

Omicron looks like a “short-term disruption” rather than a “destructive headwind that is knocking the economy off course,” Oanda’s Edward Moya said in a report. “The economic recovery in the US in 2022 still looks very strong.”

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London gained less than 0.1% to 7,378.50 while the CAC 40 in Paris lost less than 0.1% to 7,102.24. German markets were closed.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite 0.8%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7% to 3,618.05 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost less than 0.1% to 28,782.59. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.1% to 23,223.76.

The Kospi in Seoul rose 0.5% to 3,012.43 and the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney gained 0.4% to 7,420.30.

New Zealand and Jakarta advanced as Bangkok retreated. Singapore was closed for Christmas.

The wave of ommicron cases weighed on investors as they tried to gauge the impact on 2022 corporate earnings. Governments in Asia and Europe have tightened travel controls or rolled back plans to ease curbs already in place.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that US consumer spending rose 5.7% in November from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 39 years.

Inflation is at its highest point in four decades, prompting the Federal Reserve to signal it will accelerate the withdrawal of economic stimulus that has pushed stock prices up.

In energy markets, Brent oil lost 76 cents to $75.88 a barrel in London. The US markets were closed for Christmas.

The dollar fell to 114.39 Japanese yen from 114.46 yen on Thursday. The euro rose to $1.1337 from $1.1334.

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