Overnight stock market
The world‘s major stock indexes rebounded collectively on Tuesday. The three major US stock indexes all rose more than 1.5%, and the Nasdaq rose more than 2%.
Some analysts warned that it is difficult for the market to interpret the long-term threat of Omi Keron mutant strains, and some fluctuations may continue into next year.
Commodity market
As of the close of the day, the price of light crude oil futures for delivery in February 2022 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by US$2.51 to close at US$71.12 per barrel, an increase of 3.66%; the price of London Brent crude oil futures for delivery in February 2022 Up 2.46 US dollars to close at 73.98 US dollars per barrel, an increase of 3.44%.
The most active February 2022 gold futures price on the New York Mercantile Exchange gold futures market fell 5.9 U.S. dollars from the previous trading day on the 21st, and closed at 1,788.7 U.S. dollars per ounce, a decrease of 0.33%; the silver futures price for delivery in March 2022 It rose 23.8 cents to close at 22.529 US dollars per ounce, an increase of 1.07%.
Market news
[WHO: Omi Kiron strain has appeared in 106 countries and regions]
On the 21st local time, WHO released a weekly epidemiological report on new coronary pneumonia. The report pointed out that the current major global epidemic strain is still the delta strain of the new crown mutant virus. Among the 1051,598 virus gene sequence samples collected from various countries, 96% of the samples were Delta strains, and Omi Kiron strain accounted for about 1.6%. However, community transmission of Omi Kiron strains has occurred in some countries. According to the WHO, as of 14:00 on December 21, Central European Time, Omi Kiron strains have appeared in 106 countries and regions around the world. Recent evidence shows that the Omi Keron strain has a more spread advantage than the Delta strain and is spreading rapidly, so the overall risk of this strain is still very high.
[United Nations Secretary-General Guterres confirmed to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics]
On the 21st local time, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is visiting Lebanon, held a press conference. When answering a question from a headquarter reporter on whether to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Guterres said , He received an invitation from the International Olympic Committee and accepted the invitation.
[Biden: The U.S. epidemic situation will not return to the severity of 2020]
On December 21, local time, US President Biden delivered a national speech on the new crown pneumonia epidemic, saying that the US epidemic situation will not return to the severity of 2020. Biden said that more than 200 million Americans have been vaccinated against the new crown virus, their understanding of the new crown virus is more profound and accurate, and the supply of medical supplies is no longer a problem. Therefore, the United States will never repeat the mistakes of March 2020. Biden also told the American people that all Americans who have been vaccinated against the new crown can have regular gatherings and other celebrations at the end of the year. In addition, Biden also announced that the federal government will fund the purchase of 500 million doses of home-based COVID-19 test kits, which will be provided to Americans free of charge in January 2022.
[Biden said he and Manchin will make a difference in economic planning]
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he and Democratic Senator Manchin will make a difference in tax and spending plans to advance the economic agenda. Biden said he still believes that a bill can be passed to advance the economic agenda, even though Manchin has publicly opposed the legislation currently under consideration.
[Russian President Vladimir Putin and the new German Chancellor Schultz talk on the phone]
On the 21st local time, the Russian President’s website announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Schultz talked on the phone that day. This is the first time the two parties have talked directly. Putin first congratulated Schultz on his successful election as Chancellor of Germany. After that, the leaders of Russia and Germany mainly discussed the situation in Ukraine and Russia’s recent security assurance recommendations to NATO. The Russian President’s website stated that the phone talks between Russian and German leaders that day were initiated by the German side, with the main purpose of “taking an objective look at the internal conflict in Ukraine.”
[Germany announces next stage of epidemic prevention measures]
On the 21st local time, Germany once again held a federal-state epidemic prevention summit to formulate the next stage of epidemic prevention measures. In the press conference after the meeting, German Chancellor Schultz stated that based on the scientific recommendations of the expert committee, the federal and state governments have planned further epidemic prevention measures at the end of the year. Although the number of new cases in the fourth wave of the German epidemic is slowly declining, the Omi Keron strain is likely to cause “explosive transmission” in the short term, and Germany is currently “at a critical stage of epidemic prevention.”
[Over 60,000 cases of Omi Keron strain infection in the UK]
The latest data released by the British Health and Security Agency on the 21st showed that in the past 24 hours, there were 15,363 new cases of infection with the new crown mutant virus Omi Keron strain in the United Kingdom, which increased to 60,508 cases. Further measures have been taken in many places to curb the spread of Omi Keron strain.
[Italian Inter Milan Football Club was investigated for alleged financial violation]
On December 21, local time, Italian Inter Milan Football Club was investigated by the Milan Prosecutor’s Office for suspected financial violations. On the same day, the Italian police raided the Inter Milan headquarters and took away the financial report documents for the 2017-2018 season and 2018-2019 season, focusing on investigating the capital gains related to the transfer of Inter Milan.
[U.S. FDA will approve Pfizer and Merck’s new crown drugs this week]
According to the media citing sources familiar with the matter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to approve two new crown drugs from Pfizer and Merck this week. According to people familiar with the matter, the news may be announced as early as this Wednesday, but the plan may also change. It is reported that for safety reasons, the FDA may restrict drug users.
[Moody’s upgrades Apple’s long-term credit rating to AAA]
Rating agency Moody’s raised Apple’s long-term credit rating to AAA on Tuesday, with a stable outlook. Moody’s analyst Raj Joshi said that Apple’s strong business reflects a large scale of operations, a broad user base of products and services, strong customer loyalty and high-quality brand positioning. It is worth mentioning that among the constituent stocks of the S&P 500, only Apple, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson have received the highest ratings from Moody’s.
[AT&T sells Xandr advertising business to Microsoft for US$1 billion]
AT&T announced on Tuesday that it agreed to sell its Xandr division to Microsoft. It is reported that this transaction will allow customers of Microsoft products such as MSN to access Xandr’s automated online advertising market. AT&T and Microsoft did not disclose financial terms. According to people familiar with the matter, the value of the transaction is approximately $1 billion.
[Meta, Twitter and Pinterest announced their cancellation of participation in the CES program]
On Tuesday, local time, Facebook’s parent company Meta, Twitter and Pinterest respectively stated that they will not send a team to participate in the International Consumer Electronics in Las Vegas next month due to increased concerns about the Omi Keron mutant. Exhibition (CES).
[Vale sells coal business in Mozambique]
Brazilian mining giant Vale announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell its Moatize coal mine and export railway in Mozambique to Vulcan Minerals, a subsidiary of India’s Jindal Group, for a price of US$270 million and a 10-year royalties contract. Vale stated in the securities filing documents that it will immediately receive 80 million U.S. dollars, and the remaining funds will be obtained when the transaction is completed, which still needs to be approved by the Mozambican government.
[Microsoft’s $16 billion acquisition of voice giant Nuance is approved by the European Union]
The European Commission granted unconditional approval on Tuesday for Microsoft’s US$16 billion acquisition of artificial intelligence and voice technology company Nuance Communications. Previously, the transaction has been approved by the US and Australian regulatory authorities. It is worth mentioning that this is the second largest acquisition transaction in Microsoft’s history, second only to the $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016.