By Devik Jain

(Reuters] Futures tracked the Dow and rose on Thursday. This was driven by gains in Boeing (NYSE) and travel stocks. But, markets continue to be volatile due to increasing incidences of Omicron coronavirus across the globe.

Boeing Co Premarket trading saw a 4.5% increase in the 737 MAX’s value after China’s aviation authorities issued an airworthiness directive for the plane. This will allow the aircraft to be returned to China’s service after being out of use for more than two years.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed below their 50-day moving average on Wednesday, while the Dow breached its 200-day moving average for the first time since July 2020 on growing investor angst about the latest coronavirus variant and the Fed’s hawkish comments.

Wall Street came crashing down this week due to investors looking for bargains in the wake of every drawdown. But, all three indexes have been suffering sharp weekly losses. The Dow has fallen for the fourth time in a row.

As the Omicron variant of the Pandemic rattled markets and feared it would halt a temporary economic recovery, the United States and Germany joined other countries planning tighter COVID-19 regulations.

The market is already concerned about supply chain disruptions and the possibility of global central banks returning to their pre-pandemic policies. This will help to reduce price inflation.

At 7:21 am. ET was up 218 points or 0.64%. ET was up 15 points or 0.33% and down 15.75 point or 0.1%.

Wall Street’s fear index is also called the CBOE Volatility Index. It was trading last at 29.19 point, one day after reaching its highest level since February.

Stellar earnings reports, coupled with strong economic growth, have powered U.S. stocks to a series of record highs in November, with the S&P 500 climbing 20.1% so far this year.

According to Reuters, equity analysts believe a correction is likely within the next six-months. The benchmark index will gain 7.5% from now to end-2022 and reach 4,910.

Amongst other stocks, Delta Air Lines was the leader among major airlines with gains of 2%. Cruise operators Carnival (NYSE) Corp and Norwegian Cruise Lines (NYSE) each jumped over 3% to recoup losses from previous sessions.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ) dropped 2.5%, while its suppliers Qualcomm (NASDAQ), Skyworks(NASDAQ:), and Qorvo were down between 1.7% to 1.9%. This was a result of a report by Apple that indicated that its iPhone makers told their parts suppliers that there has been a slowdown in demand for its iPhone 13 line.

Oil majors Exxon Mobil (NYSE: Chevron According to oil price movements, Corp (NYSE: ) gained 1.2% and 1.4%. Bank of America (NYSE 🙂 saw the largest gain among its peers with an increase of 1.1%.[O/R]

The Labor Department will release its weekly data on jobless claims at 08:30 AM. ET.