- Investors took heart from reports that cases of the omicron variant have been relatively mild, as equities in the United States recovered from Friday's selloff.
- The S&P 500 gained 1.2%, erasing last week's losses, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained 0.9%.
- Markets were calmer today as investors pointed to good news from South Africa that showed hospitals were not overburdened by the latest wave of COVID cases. The CBOE volatility index, on the other hand, remained elevated.
- Oil rose after Saudi Arabia raised crude prices, signaling confidence in the demand outlook. Natural gas prices in the United States fell as a result of warmer weather forecasts, easing some of the previous inflationary pressures. and the 10-year treasury yield rose to 1.43%.
- Initial data from South Africa are "a little encouraging in terms of severity," said Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to US President Joe Biden, on Sunday. At the same time, he cautioned that it is too early to be conclusive.
