Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — Omicron relief rallies stall on news of new lockdowns in Europe. But preliminary South Africa data seem to show that at least some of the current vaccines against the strain are working. Robinhood’s stock surges because its early supporters have removed an important overhang. Brazil, Poland, as well as Canada are all experiencing central bank activity. Canada will likely announce its first ever interest rate rise when its policymaking board meets later. The market is digesting mixed data from the U.S. and oil prices have seen their stockpiles disappear. What you need to know for financial markets Wednesday 8th Dec.

1. Omicron Relief rally is stalled as more data emerge

More information continues to emerge on the Omicron variant of Covid-19, and while it is far from all bad, it’s still not the all-clear.

The preliminary findings in South Africa suggest that this variant may be partially capable of blocking the immune reaction triggered by Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. Officials have already expressed concern about the possibility. Moderna (NASDAQ:) about their vaccine. Researchers said results showed that vaccination and previous infection can still provide immunity.

On Tuesday, the U.S.’s top doctor Anthony Fauci had said that Omicron “almost certainly” isn’t more dangerous than the currently dominant Delta strain. Omicron was also mentioned by the World Health Organization.

2. Sterling falls on news of a new lockdown

Omicron might not be as likely to cause serious illnesses than Delta but it can accelerate the spread of this disease in the northern Hemisphere at the peak season when seasonal influences on transmission are most pronounced.

The British pound slumped after reports suggested that the U.K. government is about to reintroduce social distancing restrictions only five months after its much-trumpeted ‘Freedom Day’. The government is currently dealing with embarrassing leaks about a party that was held in 10 Downing Street last December, shortly after its nationwide ban.

European travel-themed stocks – which were already underperforming after a warning from tour operator Tui on the impact of Omicron – slumped again. Session lows were also recorded for oil prices.

3. Stocks open to mixed; Robinhood at the center 

U.S. stock markets are likely to open mixed with U.K news, prompting some people to stop Omicron relief rallies seen thus far this week. Nationa

At 6:15 AM ET (1155 GMT), the Dow was down 53 points or 0.2%. However, they were up 0.1% to 0.4%. The Dow, with its heavier exposure to ‘reopening’ themes, has outperformed in recent days after being hit harder by the initial wave of fear about the Omicron variant.

Robinhood is likely to be the focus of attention later. Robinhood announced late Tuesday that it had filed to cancel an arrangement allowing early investors to sell over 10% off its share capital. Robinhood stock gained 3.8% at premarket. Across the Atlantic, Nestle stock and L’Oreal stock both rose after the former agreed to sell a 3% stake in the latter back to it at a 7% discount to current market value.

Brown-Forman, United Natural Foods (NYSE: Campbell Soup All (NYSE:) report earnings as Weber.

4. The global central banks are taking action

It’s a big day for central bank action outside the U.S., with Brazil and Poland both set to raise interest rates at their meetings later.

Brazil’s key rates will rise by 150 basis point to 9.25%. Poland, where the key rate is 0.1% as of September, is likely to increase 50 basis points or more to 1.75%.  

Canada may offer the best meeting, as the central bank already ended its quantitative easing programme. It is likely that the bank will announce when it will raise its rate.

India’s central bank earlier left its key rate unchanged at 4.00%, as expected.

5. Fears of new lockdowns cause oil prices to drop; EIA data available

The U.K.’s news knocked some of the froth off crude oil prices, as traders factored in the risk of another wave of demand-killing restrictions on mobility.  

By 6:25 AM ET, futures were at an intraday low of $71.15 a barrel, down 1.3% on the day but still up by more than 6% from last week’s low. Futures also fell 1.0% to $74.65 per barrel.

Markets had not reacted to Tuesday’s inventory numbers by the American Petroleum Institute. They showed a surprising drop in crude oil stocks but an increase in gasoline stocks. The government’s data are due at 10:30 AM ET.