European markets bounce as omicron fears recede; Tech stocks up 3%
The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 1.4% in early trade, with tech stocks jumping 3% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses started the day firmly in positive territory.
The strong for European stocks comes after the region moved higher on Monday and global markets rallied, with concerns about the potential severity of the omicron variant easing.
White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that the initial data regarding the variant was “encouraging,” though he cautioned that more information was needed to fully understand it.
Stocks across Asia-Pacific jumped on Tuesday, bouncing back from Monday losses as Wall Street rallied on optimism that the omicron variant risk might not be as bad as feared.
U.S. stock futures pointed to another strong day on Wall Street in early premarket trade, continuing Monday’s rebound.
Meanwhile, investors are also weighing the likelihood of the U.S. Federal Reserve removing its pandemic easing policies and hiking rates sooner than expected.
Comments by Fed officials suggest the central bank is likely to decide to double the pace of its taper to $30 billion a month at its December meeting next week. Initial discussions could also begin as soon as the December meeting about when to raise interest rates and by how much next year.
European data releases Tuesday include German industrial production figures for October, Dutch inflation figures for November, Switzerland’s unemployment rate for November and French trade data for October.
In terms of individual share price movement, Belgian pharmaceutical company Galapagos climbed 6.7% in early trade to lead the Stoxx 600.
At the bottom of the index, British polymer company Victrex fell 6%, giving back Monday’s gains on the back of its earnings report.
