By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen opening marginally higher Thursday, with investors continuing to show optimism that the rapid growth of cases of the Omicron Covid variant won’t derail the country’s economic recovery.
At 7 AM ET (1200 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 105 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 Futures traded 12 points, or 0.3%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 30 points, or 0.2%.
The major indices are all on course to end the week higher, despite Monday’s sharp selloff, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 250 points, or 0.7%, higher Wednesday, the S&P 500 gained 1% to close within 1% of its record, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2%.
This rebound follows a three-day losing streak, the worst such decline for the broad-based S&P 500 since September, on fears the swift emergence of Omicron as the dominant coronavirus variant would result in further mobility restrictions, damaging the economic recovery.
However, studies by both the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London, released Wednesday, suggested the number of patients needing hospitalization with Omicron was sharply lower relative to Delta.
Additionally, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) stated earlier Thursday that three shots of its Covid-19 vaccine offered protection against the variant, citing data from an Oxford University lab study.
Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) also said that its two-dose vaccine triggered an immune response to Omicron, just days after it became the fifth drug to be authorized for use in the European Union. It’s still awaiting U.S. approval.
That said, any gains are likely to be limited with the Omicron variant causing infections to double in 1.5 to 3 days, according to the World Health Organization, and trading relatively thin heading into the Christmas holiday.
U.S. consumer confidence improved more than expected in December despite the resurgence in Covid-19 infections, data showed Wednesday, adding to the general optimism.
The data slate is full Thursday, including initial jobless claims, new home sales, durable goods orders, and the PCE price index. It also includes personal income and spending, as well as the University of Michigan consumer sentiment and expectations indexes.
Turning to the corporate sector, JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) is likely to be in the spotlight following the decision of its largest shareholder, Tencent (HK:0700) Holdings (OTC:TCEHY), to give up most of its stake in the China-based online retailer.
Oil prices gained slightly Thursday, adding to the previous session’s gains on the back of a sharp decline in U.S. crude stockpiles.
The Energy Information Administration reported late Wednesday that crude inventories declined 4.72 million barrels last week, the fourth consecutive weekly draw. This was even larger than the drop reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, with the industry body indicating that crude stocks fell by 3.67 million barrels.
By 7 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.3% higher at $73.00 a barrel, closing Wednesday above $72 for the first time in two weeks, while the Brent contract rose 0.3% to $75.53.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,807.15/oz, while EUR/USD traded largely flat at 1.1325.