Asian Stocks Rise as Omicron Fears Recede

The Index Today — Asian shares hit a record two-week high heralding a worldwide ease rally in the aftermath of reports suggesting milder symptoms of the Omicron virus variant which makes it less of a threat to the world economy, thwarting initial fears.

Nasdaq futures soared by 0.4% even as the Europe-wide Euro Stoxx 50 futures remained flat. The U.S. S&P 500 futures also rose by 0.3%.

Stefan Hofer, Chief Investment Strategist for LGT Bank in Asia Pacific, reiterated the negative impact that Omicron and the other virus variants have had on the market saying, “it seems too early to signal an all clear.” "With each new variant, we go through a period of waiting for some signal from the scientific community, which is difficult for markets, but that's what we got yesterday," he added.

British pharmaceuticals GSK announced that their antibody-based COVID-19 treatment with American partner Vir Biotechnology has proven to be an effective health measure against the Omicron variant.

Additionally, a South African research study on Tuesday contended that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine continues to be a competent shield against the new variant, although other reports suggested that the Omicron can remain partly unaffected by it.

These reports have contributed largely to the record high growth of MSCI’s world index by 2.1% since November, 2020 on Tuesday. Oil growth has also reportedly increased above 3%.

The U.S. crude plunged 0.17% to $71.93 per barrel. Brent crude growth also decreased from 0.11% to $75.36 a barrel.

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