Geoffrey Smith 

After Friday’s downturn, the world market regains some confidence. The new Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been warned by global health officials as a potentially dangerous development. However, there are no indications that it is more fatal than Delta. European gas prices are continuing to rise as Gazprom reports record profits and oil prices rebound on speculation that OPEC (and its allies) will halt their incremental production increases. What you need to know on financial markets Monday, 29 November.

1. Omicron trend retraced on global markets

Global markets recovered some – but by no means all – of their Friday losses as governments and health officials around the world stepped up their reaction to the discovery of the new Covid-19 variant, known as Omicron.

The greenback was compared to a group of emerging market economies in the. After initial shock, traders were able to price interest rate rises for next year. At 6:35 AM ET, 1135 GMT (1135 GMT) the remained at 96.165 and was 0.1% higher. However it is well within its upward trend since June. The yield on interest rate-sensitive two-year Treasury yields was at 0.54%, up two basis points on the day but still down some 14 basis points from last week’s high.

European equity indexes recover about one-third from Friday’s losses, and emerging market currencies, crude oil, and base metals enjoy overnight recovery of different strength.

Omicron is being warned by WHO, but it’s not clear if the verdict will be reached.

The Omicron variant was designated by the World Health Organization on Friday as a ‘variant of concern’, but the UN body stressed that there remains ‘substantial uncertainty’ over the dangers it poses. This uncertainty also extends to the effectiveness of current vaccines against it. Moderna (NASDAQ) CEO Stephane Bancel Pfizer (NYSE: CEO Albert Bourla) Both have expressed their confidence in the ability to adapt viruses for use against this new variant of virus within just a few months.

Preliminary research findings in South Africa, where it was first identified, suggest it is sufficiently transmissible to ‘crowd out’ the Delta variant that has dominated this year’s waves of infection around the world. South African scientists also found it to be mildly infective, something that might not apply to the elderly of the northern half.

Many countries, including the U.S., have closed their borders to South Africans and some other neighboring nations. There is evidence that the variant exists in Canada, Australia, and Europe.

3. Stocks will open at a higher level; the retail and travel industries are in focus

The global trend for partial retracement in U.S. stock markets is expected to continue. Stocks will recover around 1% from Friday’s holiday session, which saw them fall over 2%.

Between 6:20 and 1.2%, the Dow was at 251 points (or 0.7%), while they were up 0.9% to 2.2%.

Retail stocks will likely be under focus in the future, with anecdotal evidence suggesting that Black Friday sales volume in physical shops was still over 25% lower than the level in 2019, suggesting that as mobility restrictions decrease, the transition to online isn’t being reversed completely.

The travel and hospitality industries will also be of interest, as they were badly affected by Friday’s news regarding the Omicron variant.

4. Europe is frozen as the prices of its commodities boil over

Everybody loves the underdog. However, the big winner from this year isn’t going to warm anyone’s hearts. Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom stated that Gazprom has made more profits in 2009 than it did in previous years. Its tactic to limit Europe’s imports was to exceed the legally required minimums.

Gazprom’s realized export prices have more than tripled this year to over $300 per 1,000 cubic meters. The publication of its figures came as north-west Europe’s temperatures plummeted because of an Arctic front. As a result, withdrawals from European storage facilities increased, increasing the danger of shortages and rationing as well as economic contraction later in this winter.

It will also increase inflation in Europe. Isabel Schnabel (ECB board member) stated that the ECB anticipates that inflation levels will peak in November. Spain’s inflation rate hit 5.6% this month and preliminary German data are due later in the session.

5. Oil gains on OPEC+ supply speculation

After sliding to $10 per barrel Friday because of Omicron worries, crude oil prices rose more than 5% and rebounded. Speculations that OPEC, Russia and Iran will not increase their output in January contributed to this rebound. It was a reflection of the improved outlook for fuel consumption and the U.S.’s decision to reduce its strategic reserve in the coming months.

Futures rose 5.0% to $71.58 per barrel by 6:30 am ET. They were also up 4.7% to $74.97 per barrel at the same time.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s data on net speculative positioning will be released later in the day, having been pushed back from Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.