US stocks are expected to open higher on Monday, continuing their recovery from the sharp sell-off caused by the news of Omicron ahead of this week's much-awaited Federal Reserve meeting.
At 7 a.m. ET (1200 GMT), Dow futures were up 60 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures were up 12 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 60 points, or equivalent to 0.4%.
Major indexes rallied last week, rebounding after news of the new Covid-19 variant stoked fears of another significant impact on the global economy. Optimism that the Omicron variant would not be dangerous and that current vaccines, with booster shots, would be effective in treating it prompted a shift in mentality.
The Dow Jones rose 4% last week, its best weekly performance since March, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 3.8% and 3.6% respectively, their best weekly gains since the beginning of the year. February.
However, Covid-19 remains a threat, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning of a new "wave" of infections and the World Health Organization declaring that the Omicron coronavirus variant poses a threat "very high" rate globally.
The main focus for investors this week is likely to be a lot of central bank meetings and especially the two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve, which ends on Wednesday.
The Fed is expected to discuss accelerating its $120 billion one-month asset purchase program, especially after data on Friday showed consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in years. almost four decades last month.
“Amid rising inflation, soaring consumer spending, a shrinking labor supply and rising wages, the Fed is likely to tighten at a faster pace,” said analysts at ABN Amro. ".
In the enterprise sector, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is likely to make headlines with the chipmaker going to invest more than $7 billion in a new state-of-the-art facility in Malaysia, according to the local government.
Both Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) are likely to rise after an Israeli study found their Covid-19 vaccine booster dose provided good protection against severe illness. caused by the Omicron variant. Additionally, Pfizer has agreed to acquire Arena Pharmaceuticals in a $6.7 billion cash deal to expand its treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Oil prices fell on Monday, correcting after recent gains on optimism that a booster shot will be able to limit the spread of the Omicron variant and won't weigh too heavily on crude demand. Global.
Before 7 a.m. ET, U.S. crude futures were down 0.5% at $71.28 a barrel, while Brent was down 0.4% at $74.82. Both contracts gained about 8% last week, their first weekly gains in seven weeks.
