By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Friday morning, steadying after U.S. counterparts hit a record high as concerns about the omicron COVID-19 variant’s impact on the global economic recovery continue to ebb.

Japan’s was steady at 28,798.37 by 9:06 PM ET (2:06 AM GMT), with data released earlier in the day showing that the grew 0.5% year-on-year in November.

South Korea’s gained 0.51% and in Australia, the gained 0.54%.

Hong Kong’s inched up 0.07%.

China’s was down 0.36% and the was down 0.21%

Many markets have reduced their hours or are closing due to a decrease in volume. With U.S. Treasuries falling during the last session, investors are shifting from safer assets to riskier assets. On Friday, Treasuries are not traded in cash.

A U.K. study found that omicron infection is less likely to result in hospitalization, which gives sentiment some support. However, it noted that the infection could still result in serious complications.

All across the Atlantic Merck & Co . Inc. (NYSE) COVID-19 Molnupiravir from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

However, a laboratory study showed that two doses and a booster of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s vaccine did not produce sufficient levels of neutralizing antibodies to protect against omicron.

A global stock gauge is up some 3% in December, demonstrating the equity market’s resilience despite the risks posed by COVID-19. In 2022, markets could face challenges if central banks reduce liquidity support as they attempt to control high inflation.

“We certainly favor value into 2022 overgrowth and are much more on the short duration side both when we look at equities and fixed income,” Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC portfolio manager Cheryl Pate told Bloomberg.

She said that U.S. inflation may rise further and that the Federal Reserve must balance price pressures with economic recovery.

Lawrence Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary, painted a more dire picture. He warned of a difficult period in the U.S. economic future, and the possibility of a recession that is followed by stagnation. He added that the Fed failed to recognize the potential dangers from inflation.

Although omicron “will create some slowdowns in the economy, perhaps some slowdowns of production which could add to inflation pressures in the short term,” that will fade and the economy will work its way through the situation, Wells Fargo Bloomberg: Paul Christopher, head of the global market strategy at Investment Institute told Bloomberg.