European markets were mixed in a thin trading session on Christmas Eve, with traders keeping an eye on the latest developments around the omicron Covid variant.
TICKER.
The company is
Name.
The price.
Change.
%CHANGE
The volume.
.
The total number of shares of the FTSE 100 is 100.
FTSE
7386.59
14.25
0.19
18531800
.GDAXI.
It's called the DAX.
*DAX
15759.31
161.84
1.04
43253866
.FCHI.
The index is called the CAC 40.
It's called the CAC.
7109.16 is the number.
3.01
0.04
2212810
The French CAC and Dutch AEX were both flat while London's FTSE 100 was up 0.1%. Markets in Germany, Italy and Switzerland are closed, and the European trading session ends early in other countries.
There are signs that the omicron strain of the virus is milder than the earlier versions, which is causing concern among market players.
omicron has been shown to have a reduced risk of hospitalization and severe illness in South Africa and the U.K.
According to the South Africa research, people with omicron are 80% less likely to be admitted to the hospital. South African health officials cautioned that the data shouldn't be used to generalize to all countries, as the authors said this may be due to higher immunity in the population.
A study in Scotland suggests that omicron is less likely to result in hospitalization than delta. The U.K. Health Security Agency said someone with omicron was less likely to be admitted to hospital.
The new variant is ripping through many countries much more quickly than previous versions. The fourth wave of infections could cause huge pressure on the health system during the winter.
The U.S. government gave emergency approval to the pill developed by the Whitehouse Station, NJ-based company, just a day after approving a similar drug from Pfizer.
The Federal Reserve is targeting an aggressive withdrawal of its huge program of monetary easing in the next few years, which is prompting traders to ponder the potential for tighter liquidity.
The Bank of England is the first major central bank to raise interest rates since the beginning of the Pandemic, while the European Central Bank is more cautious.
Markets were mixed in Asia. Hong Kong and Singapore close early for Christmas Eve.
The markets are closed for Christmas.
HSBC says it has bought the mutual fund arm of L&T Finance for $425 million in order to take advantage of growth in the Indian asset management market. The U.K. lender's shares rose slightly.
