Markets Wrap: U.S. Futures and Europe Stocks Gain

U.S. futures and European stocks increased, extending a solid start to 2022. The U.S. job openings show a resilient economy against omicron.

Contracts on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.3%. Treasury yields appeared steady as Fed’s tightening supported traders’ discussions on the year’s outlook. The dollar appeared higher as the yen fell to a five-year low. Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose to a record high amid a rally in airline shares.

Investors are putting aside their concerns about the highly contagious omicron variant as they are trading on the economic recovery from the pandemic. The ISM December survey will show the early effect of the variant on supply chains. At the same time, the JOLTS data will show the balance between unemployment numbers and job openings.

A senior analyst at Swissquote, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, wrote that there is a lot of news regarding the rising omicron cases. However, she added that the data shows that it is not as deadly as the previous variants.

Markets expect an uptick in volatility while supply-chain disruptions and more central banks rewind pandemic stimulus. According to the data published on Monday, over one million people in the U.S. have Covid-19. In fact, this is a new global daily record.

The 10-year Treasury yield appeared steady at 1.64% after rising 12 basis points this week. The two-year rate was at 0.78%. Investors expect Fed tightening to boost yields while resetting equity valuations.

Moreover, Vice President at Bel Air Investment Advisors, Heather Wald, said they expect 2022 to be more challenging from an investment view.

Some of the major moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6% as of 8:35 a.m. London time
• Futures on the S&P 500 climbed 0.3%
• Futures on the Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.3%
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.8%
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3%