Equity rally wavers as Omicron keeps investors humble

LONDON (Dec 3) - Stocks markets wavered on Friday, with European shares just holding onto gains as the possibility of more COVID-linked activity curbs and an accelerated pace of stimulus tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve kept investors on edge.

Wall Street futures were a tad weaker , and Asian tech stocks took a hit from news that Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi will move its stock market listing from New York to Hong Kong. 

European shares could not make up their minds, flitting between positive and negative territory. They were last trading higher, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) reversed earlier falls to close 1% higher. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4%.

Global markets have had a rough week and volatility was expected to remain in place as markets navigate the implications of the new Omicron coronavirus variant and what that means for growth, inflation and ultimately central bank policy.

KitcoNews