Shares Rebound Even As Omicron Cases Spread

A semblance of calm returned to world markets on Monday as investors waited for more details to assess the severity of the Omicron coronavirus variant on the world economy, allowing battered stocks and oil prices to rebound, Reuters reported.

Photo Insert: Many markets around the world seemed unfazed by the quick spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

European shares rallied over 1%, US stock futures pointed to a firm Wall Street open, oil prices bounced more than $3, and safe-haven bonds lost ground as markets latched onto hopes the new variant of concern would prove milder than initially feared.

News of the variant triggered alarm and a sell-off on Friday that wiped roughly $2 trillion off the value of global stocks. Omicron has now been found as far afield as Canada and Australia. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday the heavily mutated variant poses a very high risk of infection surges.

S&P 500 futures added 0.85% and Nasdaq futures, 1%. Both indexes suffered their sharpest fall in months on Friday. Europe's STOXX 600 index rallied 1%, having on Friday suffered its biggest one-day fall since June 2020.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.4% but found support ahead of its 2021 low. Japan's blue-chip Nikkei fell 1.6%.

Having plunged more than 10% on Friday in their biggest one-day drop since April 2020, oil prices rallied more than 4%. Brent crude oil futures stood at around $76 a barrel, U.S. crude rose 4.9% to $71.46.

Emily McCormick reported for Yahoo Finance that US airlines and other travel stocks were mostly higher to steady after steep losses from late last week when initial concerns over the newly discovered Omicron variant of the coronavirus in South Africa fueled fears over renewed global restrictions.

Meanwhile, Zoom Video Communications, Peloton, and other stocks that have been mainstays of the "stay-at-home" trade gave back some of Friday's gains. Technology stocks that had become defensive plays during the pandemic largely held up on Monday, however, and Nasdaq futures outperformed.

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