A start around parity is expected for Wall Street, with futures on major US indices barely moving around two and a half hours after departure. In a session characterized by no significant macro ideas, the attention of the operators is turned to the health front, with the latest developments on the diffusion of Omicron.
Health restriction measures are escalating in several countries and in the United States a thousand flights were canceled yesterday as many pilots and crew members were infected with Covid. So beware of airline stocks that could start in deep red. In particular, American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines recorded pre-market reductions between 1.8% and 3%. Also to be monitored are the titles related to tourism and travel in general, such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
Microsoft has announced in recent days that it will not physically participate in the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the great annual meeting of the technology industry,
which will take place at the beginning of January, thus lengthening the list of companies that have preferred not to move due to the Covid pandemic.
On the other hand, stocks linked to the vaccine or pandemic treatments, such as Pfizer or Merck, could instead benefit and therefore move against the trend. A commission from the Japanese Ministry of Health has recommended the antiviral pill against the coronavirus developed by Merck & Co, as part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishidadi’s strategy to distribute new treatments by the end of the year.