Peter Nurse 

European stock markets were higher on Friday at Investing.com, as investors waited for additional information regarding the omicron Covid variation ahead of U.S. employment data.

At 4 AM ET (0900 GMT), the in Germany traded 0.4% higher, the in France rose 0.2% and the U.K.’s climbed 0.2%. 

Global equity markets have seen wild swings this week due to uncertainty about the economic consequences of the recently discovered variant of omicron Covid. 

On Thursday, the European Union’s public healthcare agency stated that omicron could be responsible for over half of all European infections within months. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, however, indicated it will only permit those who have proof of vaccine or natural immunity to enter shops and restaurants. The mandate will make immunization mandatory in all health care facilities starting March.

The variant was first discovered in South Africa. Latest data shows that hospitalizations and new infections are increasing faster there than during previous pandemic waves.

Good news: GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE) has announced that an analysis has shown that their antibody-based therapeutic drug against omicron is effective. Roche (SIX) has also revealed that it has created new testing kits for researchers to detect the mutations in this variant. 

Investors will still be focused on Friday’s U.S. Monthly Jobs Report, which will provide clues about whether or not the Federal Reserve will accelerate its December tapering.

At 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT), they are forecast to increase by 560,000 and then drop to 4.4%.  

The October month saw 0.9% growth, an improvement on the 1.5% decrease in the previous month. However, the expansion zone remained.

Didi Global (NYSE) has announced that it will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and instead seek a Hong Kong listing. The announcement comes just a few short months after the $4.4 billion U.S. IPO. Southeast Asian super app Grab suffered 21% after merging in with a special purpose acquisitions company.

Crude prices rose after OPEC+ opened the door to a swift change in policy if the fuel demand was badly affected by travel restrictions and lockdowns imposed in combating the omicron Covid variety. 

The surprise of the oil market was the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries with its allies (known as OPEC+). They maintained their plans to increase supply by 400,000 barrels daily in January. But, top producers indicated that they are open to meeting again, if required, before their next scheduled meeting Jan. 4.

At 4:38 AM ET futures had traded 2.8% higher to $68.33/barrel, and the contract rose 2.7%, reaching $71.47. The sixth consecutive losing week is expected for both futures and contract.

The price of gold rose 0.4% to $1769.00/oz while it traded 0.1% lower at 1.1292.