“It’s a game of trying to assess to what extent the Omicron story is going to cause uncertainty,” said“Even though it’s going to be impactful for real life and the real economy for a few weeks, markets are hoping it won’t lead to what everyone fears, which is a global slowdown.”US stock futures were up 0.6 per cent.
Still, investors were on Tuesday cautiously optimistic that the economic hit would not be as severe this time around, buying stocks and selling perceived safe-haven currencies such as the dollar and the Japanese yen. “Covid remains a threat to the global economy. Initial evidence suggests the Omicron variant is more transmissible but results in less severe illness compared to previous variants,” economists at CBA wrote in a note.