- Global stock markets fell yesterday as attention turned to data showing the omicron coronavirus variant will likely be dominant in some areas within a few days. Hospitalization data from Denmark suggest that the variant is not unusually mild, which would be bad news, although the question of severity still needs time to resolve. Attention is also turning to tomorrow’s Federal Reserve release which looks likely to begin a considerably hawkish policy tilt to combat currently high inflation.
- The Forex market has opened the week mostly trading quietly and uncertainly on low volatility. There is no clear direction and Forex traders will probably do best staying out of the market today or scalping bounces off any key support or resistance levels which border clear consolidation patterns. The British pound and Australian dollar are currently showing the most movement.
- The Turkish lira fell to a new all-time low yesterday on rumors that the Turkish central bank would cut rates again this Thursday, but it quickly bounced back when the bank intervened in the market to prop up the lira’s value. However, the lira has begun falling again at the time of publication.
- The omicron coronavirus variant is spreading rapidly in the UK and Denmark. The British government has estimated 40% of new cases in London are of this variant already. The British government announced on Sunday that it would try to vaccinate half its eligible adult population by the end of this month, as it believes that full vaccination plus a booster shot is required to ensure a high level of protection against serious disease from the new variant. This will require 1 million vaccinations per day.
- Last week saw the first global weekly fall in new confirmed coronavirus cases after two months in which cases rose steadily.
- It is estimated that 56% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 271.1 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.97%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, South Korea, Laos, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
Forex Today: Stocks Weaken on Omicron & Fed Concerns
Adam Lemon
Stocks sold off yesterday on fears that omicron won’t be mild as it spreads strongly in parts of Europe.