(New York) Stock markets rose sharply on Wednesday, in reduced trading volumes ahead of the holidays, benefiting from further easing of fears over the Omicron variant.
After an opening close to equilibrium, Wall Street is frankly committed to the green. The Dow Jones gained 0.74%, the technology-heavy NASDAQ index 1.18% and the broader S&P 500 index 1.02%.
The indices increased their gains at the end of the session in Paris (+ 1.24%), London (+ 0.61%), Frankfurt (+ 0.95%) and Milan (+ 0.66%).
During the holiday season, in the absence of a large number of asset managers, liquidity decreases, which can exacerbate any movements in the stock market.
In their home stretch before 2022, investors are worried about the Omicron variant, accelerating inflation and tensions in the energy market amid tighter monetary policies.
However, “some preliminary results from the British Health Agency concerning the effects of the Omicron variant seem to be welcomed”, with new evidence on the lower dangerousness of Omicron, confirming studies in South Africa, explains Michael Hewson , from CMC Markets.
“This helps to justify the decision to delay the decision on the new restrictions in England until after Christmas, and gives more leeway afterwards,” he continues.
In addition, in the rare indicators of the day, US consumer confidence improved more than expected in December, concerns about inflation having eased, according to the Conference Board index released Wednesday.
Some find themselves dreaming of a last jerk of the kidneys by December 31st.
“We have said so much that there will be an end-of-year“ rally ”(series of increases for the indices), it’s a bit of a trader’s tradition,” commented Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Financial Services.
“Now there are also reasons,” he continued. “The main one is that all the signs we have are that the risk that Omicron is as serious as Delta or that the previous strains of COVID-19 are receding.”
New orders for Airbus
The French government on Wednesday formalized the order from Airbus for 169 H160M “Guépard” helicopters intended for the armed forces, a contract for equipment and services worth 10 billion euros in total. The manufacturer climbed 4.01% to 111.08 euros, taking in its wake the equipment manufacturer Safran (+ 2.97% to 104.56 euros). Dassault Aviation (+ 2.04% to 92.65 euros) also ended up.
Musk has sold 10% of his stake in Tesla, which is surging
In an interview with satirical site Babylon Bee, co-founder and CEO Elon Musk said he had “roughly” sold 10% of his Tesla titles in recent months, as he had announced publicly. It seems to signal the end of this wave of cession which amounts to approximately 14 billion dollars, of which still a little more than 500 million on Tuesday.
Abandoned in recent weeks, the action recovered, taking 7.49% to 1008.87 dollars. This leap once again propelled Tesla past $ 1 trillion in market capitalization.
Oil prolongs its rise
Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday for the second session, on the back of lower US inventories than expected and cheap purchases.
A barrel of North Sea Brent for February delivery, the most traded in London, gained 1.77% to end at $ 75.29.
In New York, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for the same maturity, rose 2.30% to 72.76 dollars.
The euro was up 0.38% against the greenback at $ 1.1328, while bitcoin was almost at breakeven (+ 0.03%) at $ 49,068.