World shares gain steam in bright 2022 opening

World shares gain steam in bright 2022 opening

LONDON- World shares extended on Tuesday a bright start to 2022 as markets from Europe to Asia shrugged off worries the Omicron coronavirus variant could choke the global economic recovery, while the dollar rose after U.S. bond yields jumped. The Euro STOXX 600 gained as much as 0.9% to hit a record of 494.55 points, topping its previous all-time high scaled a day earlier. Indexes in Germany, France and Britain rose between 0.7% and 1.3%. Travel and leisure stocks jumped over 3%, with Ryanair adding 10% and British Airways-owner IAG gaining over 12%, reflecting expectations that Omicron's impact on the industry would be less severe than initially feared. "As far as markets are concerned Omicron is in the rear view mirror," said Colin Asher, senior economist at Mizuho. "The main focus was on a collapse in demand and now because demand has recovered so quickly, the focus is more on the supply... it will prolong supply chain delays and push prices higher rather than push activity down." Wall Street was also set for gains after closing a day earlier at record highs, with e-mini futures for the S&P 500 index ESc1 0.4% higher. The U.S. dollar rose to its highest