stock market
The US stock market closed higher on Monday, recovering some of the decline recorded during the sell-off last Friday, as investors hoped that the Omicron variant would not cause a blockade after US President Joe Biden gave assurances. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 236.6 points to 35,135.94 points, or 0.68%. The S&P 500 rose 60.65 points, or 1.32%, to 4,655.27 points. The Nasdaq index rose 291.18 points, or 1.88%, to 15,782.83 points.
The European stock market rose after experiencing its worst sell-off in over a year. Investors are waiting for clues as to whether the Omicron variant will hinder economic recovery and the tightening of monetary plans by central banks. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 0.7%, the biggest one-day gain in a month. The London FTSE 100 rose 0.9%, and investors are betting that the Bank of England may be forced to reconsider tightening monetary policy next month. The German stock DAX index closed 0.16% higher, and the French CAC-40 index closed up 0.54%.
Foreign exchange market
The strengthening of the US dollar and the weakening of the safe-haven yen and the Swiss franc have reversed part of last Friday's trend, and governments around the world are seeking further information on the latest coronavirus variant and its impact. The US dollar index rose 0.2% to 96.367, the biggest one-day decline since May last Friday.
Click here to check the foreign exchange ETFs that have received the most capital in the past week.
bond market
Most US bond yields have risen, and the yield curve has steeper, as safe-haven buying weakened due to a new variant of COVID-19 discovered last week. The indicator 10-year bond yield rose 3.6 basis points at the end of the session to 1.5209%. In terms of short-term debt, yields also declined from intraday highs. The two-year bond yield, which reflects short-term interest rate expectations, fell by less than 1 basis point to 0.5157%.
The rise in Eurozone bonds weakened, and yields rose slightly, as investors got rid of their fears and began to evaluate the impact of the Omicron COVID-19 variant on the global economy. German 10-year bond yields rose 2 basis points at the end of the session to minus 0.314%. Yields on other high-rated Eurozone bonds also rose by about 2-3 basis points.
oil market
Oil prices recovered their gains at the end of the session, but closed higher, as investors believed that the collapse in the oil and financial markets last Friday had gone too far since there was no more data on the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Brandt crude futures rose $0.72, or 1%, and settled at $73.44 per barrel. U.S. crude oil futures rose $1.80, or 2.6%, and settled at $69.95 per barrel.
Metals market
The price of gold has declined somewhat, returning to the general downward trend of the previous week. As the US dollar strengthens and risk sentiment picks up, the market is weighing how serious the impact of the Omicron variant virus will be on the economy. Spot gold closed down 0.4% to $1,785.01 an ounce. US futures closed at $1,782.30, down 0.2%.
Copper prices are rising, and concerns that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will further damage economic growth and demand are offset by low inventories of this industrial metal. At 1706 GMT, the London Metal Exchange (LME) indicator for three-month copper rose 1.2% to $9,570 per tonne, and plummeted 3.5% last Friday.
Click here to check the flow of funds for the exchange-traded fund Silver ETF ishares (SLV) that holds physical silver positions. Click here to check the capital flow of SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), an exchange-traded fund that holds physical gold positions. Click here to check the gold ETFs that have had the most capital inflows in January. (Compiled from Reuters Financial Morning Post)