London, Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Consumer confidence and 3Q GDP above expectations, giving stocks a back-to-back day of gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 250 points, the S&P 500 gained 1.0 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2 percent in the second session on Wednesday.
Despite an increase in Covid-19 cases, traders' risk appetite improved as they became more optimistic about global economic recovery. Infected people are up to 80% less likely to develop serious disease with the new strain, according to a new study, albeit the results could be impacted by current population immunity, which is stronger than last year.
Tesla rose more than 7% among single stocks after Elon Musk claimed in a podcast that he had met his target of selling 10% of his shares for tax reasons.
Pfizer gained 1% after the Food and Treatment Administration approved its pill, which is the first antiviral drug against the virus approved for at-home usage. Consumer confidence increased more than predicted in December, while existing house sales increased for the third consecutive month in November.
Meanwhile, European stock indices ended the day higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, helped by positive sentiment in US stock markets and light trade volumes. Earlier, markets were neutral as investors waited to see how the omicron variation would affect the economy.
In the event of a pandemic, Austria will relax some travel restrictions to reduce the impact on ski resorts, Portugal has imposed new limitations on the service industry for the Christmas season, and France is considering expanding the vaccine mandate to include workplaces. Meanwhile, ECB board member Isabel Schnaber predicted that inflation would remain high for a time, but then moderate in 2022. On the data front, the UK's latest Q3 GDP estimates revealed a slower-than-expected expansion over the prior quarter, as investors brace for the omicron variant's impact in the fourth quarter.
U.S. Stock Market Indexes
S&P 500: +47.33 (+1.02%) to 4,696.56
Nasdaq: +180.81 (+1.18%) to 15,521.89
Dow Jones: +261.26 (+0.74%) to 35,753.96
European Stock Market Indexes
STOXX Europe 600: +4.37 points, or 0.92%, to 478.36
FTSE 100 in London: +44 points, or 0.61%, to end at 7,341
DAX 30 in Germany: +146 points, or 0.95%, to close at 15,593
CAC 40 in France: the best performer of the day, +86 points, or 1.24%, to 7,051
FTSE MIB 30 in Italy: +174 points, or 0.66%, to close at 26,827
IBEX 35 in Spain: +71 points, or 0.85%, to finish at 8,459
Other markets
Ten-year U.S. Treasury note: -3 bps to yield 1.4570%
Dollar index: -0.36 or -0.38% at 96.12 as of Dec 22, 2021 at 5:50 p.m. EST
VIX volatility index: −2.38 (11.33%) at 18.63 as of Dec 22, 3:15 PM CST
Oil prices
Brent crude: +0.30 or 0.40% at $75.59 per barrel as of Dec 22, 2021 10:49 p.m. GMT
West Texas Intermediate: +1.91 or 2.69% at $73.03 per barrel as of Dec 22, 2021 4:59 p.m. EST
Precious metals
Gold: +13.40 or +0.75% at $1,803.54 an ounce
Silver: +0.30 or +1.35% at $22.80 an ounce
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin: −94.30 (0.19%) at $48,860.50 as of Dec 22, 11:04 PM UTC
Etherum: −25.85 (0.64%) at $3,994.16 as of Dec 22, 11:04 PM UTC
(Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)
