S&P 500

US stocks halted near yearly highs yesterday because reports indicated that there was a surge in Covid cases around the world, including the United States.

Dow rose by 0.3%, while Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell 0.6% and 0.1% respectively.

It appears that the market lost momentum and activity ahead of the New Year.

Unsurprisingly, Asian markets also dipped on Tuesday, with Japan indices losing 0.8% and China indices falling by 1.2%.

Oil, meanwhile, continued to rally in the markets, prompting Brent to trade at $ 79.10. Gas in Europe even hit $ 1200, but this could change by mid-January.

With regards to the coronavirus, the total number of new cases all over the world jumped to a record 1,200,000 as of yesterday. 300,000 of it came from the United States, 179,000 from France, 120,000 from the UK, 99,000 from Spain and 78,000 from Italy. Mortality was also high in the US - 1,800 a day - while European countries have a low rate. Huge infection levels threaten to paralyze the medical system in the coming days.

Apple closed its stores in New York because of the omicron outbreak.

That is why the S&P 500 traded at 4.786 points, within a range of 4.750 - 4.810 points.

Clearly, the main focus of the markets is the omicron and its outbreak in the US. All state governments are looking for ways to reduce the spread of infection - by imposing contact bans, but everyone wants to avoid lockdowns because that is harmful to the economy. The coming days will show whether the medical system will cope with the outbreak, subject to relatively lenient government measures. The market may react negatively to the omicron news, so investors should cut their long positions if they have not already done so, and not rush to make new purchases.

Talking about dollar, there is little move in the past days, so USDX remained at 96.20 points, with a range of 95.80 - 96.20. There is no reason for movement, but in the coming days, there may be jumps in the thin market.

Accordingly, USD/CAD traded 1.2820, with a range of 1.2760 - 1.2860. The pair did not react to the rise in oil prices, but we can expect an upward reversal if dollar strengthens.

Conclusion: The US market may continue to decline today because of the ongoing omicron outbreak in the world, especially in the United States.