Cautious Mood In Holiday-Thinned Trade – Investing.com

Cautious Mood In Holiday-Thinned Trade – Investing.com

Asia drifts lower despite China support but European shares eye gains Rising virus cases put investors on edge as doubts re-emerge about Omicron impactCommodities pressured, dollar firms, pound advances
Subdued start to final week of 2021

Markets were struggling for direction on Monday in what is the last trading week of the year. The optimism that the Omicron variant will not cause a major setback to the post-pandemic economic progress has been brought into question by the latest surge in new infections in many parts of the world, including the United States.

With headlines of thousands of flight cancellations over the Christmas weekend, it is hard not to be feeling anxious about what the outlook holds for the winter months. However, although the worrying trend in new infections is ringing alarm bells for investors, there is no sense of panic just yet.

Policy hopes may be keeping virus jitters at bay

The Fed’s open-minded approach to rate hikes is probably spurring hopes that should the virus situation deteriorate dramatically, policymakers will ease up on the pace at which they remove stimulus, even as they turn more hawkish on inflation.


There is also some relief after China’s central bank signalled on Saturday that it will be more