Australian shares are poised to start a shortened session on a positive note, taking direction from further, albeit modest, gains in New York. US stocks pared early gains as the session progressed.The local currency edged 0.1 per cent higher. Bitcoin was trading near $US47,500.On Wall St near 3.25pm: Dow +0.1% STesla -0.7% Apple -0.2% Meta +0.8% Netflix +0.
Royal Caribbean Group said it was grappling with a drop in bookings and a rise in cancellations as COVID-19 cases surge in the United States, driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant.European shares ended higher on Thursday on hopes fresh curbs and restrictions may not be needed to fight the pandemic going into the new year, but a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant kept a lid on gains.
Spain’s IBEX rose 0.5 per cent even as flash data showed consumer prices in December rose 6.7 per cent across the country from the same month last year, the fastest annual pace of inflation since 1989. At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.62 per cent at 3619.19 points, posting its biggest daily percentage gain since December 21.Hong Kong shares ended slightly higher on Thursday, led by gains in healthcare firms and blue-chip technology stocks, as investors shied away from big moves in holiday-thinned trading.