- On thin trading volume ahead of the holidays, a comeback in equities and US futures stagnated on Wednesday, as investors awaited clarity on the economic implications of the omicron variant and the outlook for US fiscal stimulus.
- Travel stocks rose in Europe as utilities declined, but an index of Asia-Pacific stocks rose. The S&P 500 contracts remained unchanged, while the NASDAQ 100 contracts fell after recovering from a dip on Tuesday. Tesla gained in premarket trading after Musk sold a larger portion of his stock in the company.
- The dollar index remained stable, while Treasury yields and crude oil prices rose.
- Markets have been volatile at the conclusion of a year that saw equities surge during a pandemic recovery before losing speed due to concerns about inflation, tighter policy, and stiffer limits brought on by the omicron. Biden said there's still a chance he can strike a deal to get the $2 trillion US economic plan through congress, so attention is still focused on that.
- EU prepares implementation of 15% global minimum tax law.
- Poland will be charged with infringement by the European Commission.
- ECB's Holzmann: In an extreme scenario, rates could be hiked next year.
- Russian Foreign Min. Lavrov: Russia is willing to consider security suggestions from the United States.
- ECB's Schnabel: Expecting a dulled fourth quarter, which will carry over into the first quarter of next year.
