The World Economic Forum scheduled for January 17-21 in Davos, Switzerland has been postponed due to the Omicron variant. The meeting, a strategic appointment for the world of business and politics, was supposed to be held in early summer in Singapore but had been postponed until next month
The uncertainties related to the Omicron variant and the lockdown tests also knock out the stock exchanges. The penultimate octave of the year opens under the banner of uncertainty. A scenario to which is added the impasse on Joe Biden’s public spending plan in the United States, which adds tension at a time of the year when the liquidity of the markets is scarce and it is therefore easier to see strong variations. Oil reacted immediately with the WTI falling below the psychological threshold of $ 70 per barrel.
Milan loses more than 2% (after having also recorded a -3%) dragged down by the banks, but also energy and automotive stocks suffer strong sales. The other main markets of the Old Continent are also in red, with the Stoxx 600 losing almost 2.5%. The Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s “fear index”, also shot up. The Vix curve reflects long-term expectations for market volatility, and a reversal of the curve suggests investors consider the short-term outlook more: compared to last Friday, it climbed 11% to 26.9 points.
On the other hand, the assets characteristic of a moment of escape from risk, such as US Treasuries, the dollar itself and gold, which touches a three-week high, rose. Deep red for oil, which first of all records fears that the growth in infections will block the economic recovery and put the flight industry back to ground, a major fuel consumer but also the first to suffer from lockdowns. Brent crude oil futures fell 3.37% to $ 71.04 a barrel while WTI futures fell 3.78% to $ 68.18 a barrel. Movements that arrive, however, in a phase of new tension on the energy market: as Bloomberg tells us, in fact, there is concern among traders for the extremely rigid days awaiting Europe and Russia’s intention to keep the flow of gas during the day.
The Asian stock markets have already moved in deep red, on fears of the spread of Omicron cases and new restrictions: Tokyo closed with -2.13%. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.07% while China’s second-largest Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.77%.