US markets settle higher as investors shake off omicron worries

07 Dec 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Monday on easing concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus amid indications the new strain causes milder symptoms. President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said it is too early to make definitive statements but said early signals regarding the severity of Omicron are encouraging. Fauci also expressed optimism the Biden administration could lift travel restrictions on several African nations in a reasonable period of time. On the sectoral front, Airline stocks skyrocketed amid easing concerns about the Omicron variant, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 5.8 percent. The index continued to rebound after hitting its lowest levels in a year last week.

Substantial strength was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 3.7 percent spike by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The rally by oil service stocks came as the price of crude oil for January delivery surged $3.23 to $69.49 a barrel. Housing stocks also showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2.5 percent to its best closing level in almost seven months. Steel, financial and telecom stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 646.95 points or 1.87 percent to 35,227.03, Nasdaq rose 139.68 points or 0.93 percent to 15,225.15 and S&P 500 was up by 53.24 points or 1.17 percent to 4,591.67.

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