By Medha Singh

(Reuters) – U.S. stock futures rose Wednesday as Tesla (NASDAQ) won. Investors were calmed by hopes that Omicron coronavirus variant was less fatal than previous strains, despite daily high number of cases.

As CEO Elon Tesla opted to exercise all his options, the company’s electric-car manufacturer saw a 2.2% increase in premarket trading. It also signaled that he would not be selling stock. After a 7433% increase in 2020, its shares have risen 54% over the past year.

Some early studies pointed to a reduced risk of hospitalization for the Omicron variant, compared with the Delta strain — an observation that has helped investors look past the travel disruptions brought about by the pandemic.

Delta Air Lines, U.S. carriers (NYSE: Alaska Air (NYSE: Group) Group cancelled hundreds more flights on Tuesday after the number of daily U.S. infected infected exceeded the January peak.

6.29 a.m. ET ET were up 8 point, or 0.2%. They were also up 3.75 points (0.08%) and 32 points (0.19%).

It fell on Tuesday to the lowest volume trading session in 2021. The drop snapped a streak of four consecutive winning days that had reached record heights.

The seasonally strong U.S. stock market performance is typically seen in the last five trading days and the first two weeks of next year.

Market participants cautioned against reading into daily movements as holiday season has the tendency to see the lowest turnovers in trading volumes, which can lead to exaggerated price actions.