Global stocks mixed as Omicron spreads

World markets diverged in thin holiday trade on Monday as fears lingered over the spreading Omicron coronavirus variant.

The highly mutated strain has fuelled a massive increase in cases across the globe, with countries reviving lockdowns, thousands of flights cancelled, and cruise ships returning to port with Covid-infected passengers.

Frankfurt was up 0.1 percent and Paris was flat in midday trading while Asian markets finished down. London and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday.

“Omicron cases are surging in the US and Europe, and although markets have well and truly priced in a less virulent strain, the disruption to goods and services from isolating workers, notably air travel, seems to be the main fallout so far,” said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at foreign exchange firm OANDA.

“That is only likely to cause short-term nerves, with the global recovery story for 2022 still on track,” Halley said. On Friday before the Christmas break, markets wavered in similarly subdued trade.

A day earlier on Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended the last session before the long holiday weekend at a fresh record following a raft of mostly decent US economic data.

A study released Sunday showed US consumers were in the mood to spend over the holiday season, with retail sales soaring 8.5 percent over last year.

Online sales were up 11 percent and in-store sales up 8.1 percent between November 1 and Christmas Eve, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse study.

“Consumers splurged throughout the season,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO of Saks Incorporated.