European Stock Futures Edge Lower; Nestle Reduces Stake in L’Oreal By Investing.com – Investing.com

European Stock Futures Edge Lower; Nestle Reduces Stake in L’Oreal By Investing.com – Investing.com

© Reuters.

By Peter Nurse 

Investing.com - European stock markets are expected to open marginally lower Wednesday, taking a breather after a sharp rally driven by hopes that the Omicron Covid-19 variant is a dud.

At 2 AM ET (0700 GMT), the contract in Germany traded 0.1% lower, in France dropped 0.1% and the contract in the U.K. also fell 0.1%.

Global stock markets rallied strongly on Tuesday as investors shook off some anxiety about the latest coronavirus variant, buoyed by reports that the new variant may produce a milder reaction in patients and thus could be less disruptive to the world economy than previous strains.

A South African study suggested on Tuesday that booster doses produced by Pfizer (NYSE:), and partner BioNTech (NASDAQ:), could help fend off infection from Omicron, although the study showed the new strain can partially evade protection from two doses.

An earlier study showed that GlaxoSmithKline's (LON:) antibody-based therapy, made in conjunction with Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:), was effective against it.

Still, whatever the news surrounding Omicron, the countries in Europe are still battling to stop a fourth wave of the pandemic, with Germany recording the highest number of deaths