· U.S. stock futures, oil regain some ground after Omicron battering
Asian markets regained a little composure on Monday as investors settled in for a few weeks of uncertainty on whether the Omicron variant would really derail economic recoveries and the tightening plans of some central banks.
Oil prices also bounced $3 a barrel to recoup some of Friday's shellacking, while the safe haven yen took a breather after its run higher.
Trading was erratic early on Monday but there were signs of stabilisation as S&P 500 futures added 0.8% and Nasdaq futures 0.9%.
Both indices suffered their sharpest fall in months on Friday with travel and airline stocks hit particularly hard.
· Asia-Pacific stocks slip as investors watch omicron Covid variant; oil prices rebound more than 4%
Shares in Asia-Pacific largely fell in Monday trade as investors continue to monitor developments surrounding the recently discovered omicron Covid variant.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.52% by the afternoon. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech giant Meituan lost more than 7% after the firm on Friday posted a loss of about 10 billion Chinese yuan ($1.56 billion) for the three months ended Sept. 30.
Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed, also paring some losses, with the Shanghai composite fractionally lower and the Shenzhen component nudging 0.275% higher.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.8% while the Topix index dipped 1.13% lower after falling more than 1% earlier. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.47%.
Shares in Australia also slipped as the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.25%.
The WHO said in a Sunday statement that it was still unclear whether infection with the omicron Covid variant causes more severe disease as compared with other strains, including del
· European markets set to soar at the open despite global concern over omicron variant
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