By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Wednesday morning, but concerns about the omicron COVID-19 variant’s economic impact cooled a global stock market rally.

Japan’s inched up 0.06% by 9:01 PM ET (2:01 AM GMT), with on .

South Korea’s was up 0.33% while in Australia, the was down 0.26%.

Hong Kong’s rose 0.75%.

China’s inched up 0.05% and the was up 0.39%, with a gauge of Chinese shares traded in the U.S. climbing about 7%.

U.S. President Joe Biden indicated that it’s still possible to make a deal between Senator Joe Manchin in order to get the $2 trillion Build Back better bill passed through Congress.

The holiday season could see a drop in volumes which can lead to market swings. Meanwhile, omicron concerns continue to cloud the outlook.

Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, said that he would not approve of tighter restrictions before holidays. However, he cautioned against being too strict. Germany will likely limit gatherings to 10 people and France is limiting New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Some investors remain positive, and Nicole Webb (Welfare Enhancement Group senior vice-president) told Bloomberg that the global story of reopening is on track to gain momentum.

“While this variant is significant and the impact is powerful, I do still have my rose-colored glasses heading into 2022 because below the surface there is still a lot of opportunity” away from trades that are played out or frothy, said Webb.

Two COVID-19 tablets could be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Pfizer Inc. Merck & Co . Inc. (NYSE) in the next week.

“We’ve got a wave of COVID-19, but the undertow at least with each successive wave seems to be weaker. We’re on a very, very strong footing financially and economically speaking. So we think that the markets and investors will be able to withstand that,” UBS Private Wealth Management managing director Rod von Lipsey told Bloomberg.

Investors warned about the possibility of continued volatility.

“Whipsaw price action continues ahead of the holiday season,” OANDA senior market analyst Craig Erlam said in a note, which added that “these are illiquid markets and omicron continues to be a huge cloud of uncertainty over them.”