What followed Friday’s big sell-off was a surge in stock futures in overnight trading on Sunday as investors evaluated the latest developments around the Covid-19 variant, omicron.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures moved up 243 points, 0.7%
- S&P 500 futures gained 0.96%
- Nasdaq 100 futures added 1.19%
Stocks came off a holiday-shortened Friday session with three major indexes running negative for the week.
- Dow recording its worst day since October 2020 on Friday, down 905 points, 2.5%
- The S&P 500 dropped 2.3%
- The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.2%
The pandemic and emerging variant of Covid continue to pose a significant risk to the markets and will possibly continue to infuse volatility for the coming year or years. The impact of the latest variant is hard to predict, according to Keith Lerner, a co-chief investment officer of Truist Advisory Services.
WHO on Friday referred to omicron as the “variant of concern.” Although scientists are continuously researching, the numerous mutations of omicron raise alarms. Moreover, according to the WHO, the strain also poses an increased risk of reinfection considering the preliminary evidence.
South Africa being the first to report the variant, it was later found in the UK, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Germany, and Hong Kong, except for the US. As a result, several countries restricted travel from South Africa along with the US.
Vaccine manufacturers have started testing and announced measures to investigate omicron. Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said that they could release a reformulated vaccine for omicron early next year as it is still unclear how omicron will respond to current vaccines and if new formulations are required.
To top the Covid developments, key economic data will be released this week.
The November jobs report on Friday will probably show solid jobs growth. Dow Jones survey expects 581,000 jobs added in November.