LONDON — European markets are set to open slightly lower in what’s likely to be a thin trading session on Christmas Eve, with traders keeping a watchful eye on the latest developments around the omicron Covid variant.

According to IG Index data, Britain’s FTSE 100 has lost 19 points at 7.362, Germany’s DAX is down 1 point @ 15,749 and France’s CAC by 9 points. The markets in Italy and Switzerland will be closed while trading sessions for London will close at 12:30 GMT.

The market players have to balance concerns about coronavirus restrictions, tighter central banking policy and signs that the highly mutated Omicron strain is more mild than previous variants such as delta.

New studies in South Africa and the U.K.This week, omicron appears to have a lower risk of severe and hospitalizations.

South Africa’s research isn’t peer-reviewed and shows that people infected by omicron have a 80% lower risk of being admitted to hospital than those with other varieties. The authors suggested that this could be partly due to greater immunity. However, South African health officials warned that it is not possible to extrapolate the results to other countries.

Another study done in Scotland and not peer reviewed, found that omicron was two-thirds more likely to lead to hospitalization than delta. According to the U.K. Health Security Agency, someone suffering from omicron is 50-70% more likely to be admitted into a hospital.

The government is trying to find clues about the extent of this new mutation, which has been ravaging many countries at a much faster pace than other variants. In the fourth wave, authorities are concerned that health systems could be put under great pressure in the coming winter.

The good news continues on Thursday with more positive developments regarding the Covid front. U.S. government gave emergency approval to Merck’s antiviral pill for CovidOne day after authorizing the application similar drug developed by Pfizer.

Traders still consider the likelihood of tighter liquidity by 2022. This is because the Federal Reserve intends to aggressively taper its enormous stimulus program and three rate increases.

Although the Bank of England takes a more hawkish approach than the European Central Bank, it is becoming the first major central banks to increase interest rates.

Asia is markets were mixed Friday. For Christmas Eve, major markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore and other parts of the region close earlier than usual.

The Christmas holiday will see the U.S. market close Friday.