By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Wednesday morning, but concerns about the omicron COVID-19 variant’s economic impact cooled a global stock market rally.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.06% by 9:01 PM ET (2:01 AM GMT), with the Bank of Japan Governor releasing the minutes from its latest meeting on Wednesday.
South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.33% while in Australia, the ASX 200 was down 0.26%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.75%.
China’s Shanghai Composite inched up 0.05% and the Shenzhen Component was up 0.39%, with a gauge of Chinese shares traded in the U.S. climbing about 7%.
Contributing to improving sentiment, U.S. President Joe Biden said it is still possible to reach a deal with Senator Joe Manchin to push the $2 trillion Build Back Better bill through Congress.
However, thinner volumes as the holidays approach could exacerbate market swings and omicron concerns are also continuing to cast a shadow over the outlook.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled out tighter restrictive measures before the holidays but urged caution. Germany will likely limit gatherings to 10 people and France is limiting New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Some investors still remained optimistic, with Wealth Enhancement Group senior vice president Nicole Webb telling Bloomberg that the global reopening narrative will in time gain traction again.
“While this variant is significant and the impact is powerful, I do still have my rose-colored glasses heading into 2022 because below the surface there is still a lot of opportunity” away from trades that are played out or frothy, said Webb.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could also authorize two COVID-19 pills from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Merck & Co . Inc. (NYSE:MRK) as soon as this week.
“We’ve got a wave of COVID-19, but the undertow at least with each successive wave seems to be weaker. We’re on a very, very strong footing financially and economically speaking. So we think that the markets and investors will be able to withstand that,” UBS Private Wealth Management managing director Rod von Lipsey told Bloomberg.
Other investors warned of continuous volatility ahead.
“Whipsaw price action continues ahead of the holiday season,” OANDA senior market analyst Craig Erlam said in a note, which added that “these are illiquid markets and omicron continues to be a huge cloud of uncertainty over them.”