European stocks drop as Omicron fears keep markets on edge

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European stock indexes opened lower on Thursday, reversing gains from the previous session as a lack of information about the Omicron variant of COVID-19 left markets volatile, and as investors also bet on faster Fed tapering.

, which tracks shares in 50 countries, was down 0.2% on the day, having touched its lowest in 18 days.

Also weighing on stock markets, and flattening the U.S. yield curve, were remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said that he would consider a faster end to the Fed's bond-buying programme, which could open the door to earlier interest rate hikes. Long-term U.S. Treasury yields neared their lowest in a year late on Wednesday, with the U.S. 30-year yield touching its lowest since early January, as investors bet that early rate hikes would curb inflation.

Volatility in equity markets as measured by the Vix, known as Wall Street's "fear index", hit its highest since February on Wednesday, before easing on FridayCurrency market volatility also rose, with euro-dollar one-month volatility gauges below Monday's one-year peak but still at elevate levels .

 

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