Market Drivers – Asian Session 2-12-2021

The market’s eyes are still fixed on the headlines of the coronavirus mutant, Omicron.

Japanese stocks closed lower Thursday, December 2, weighed by concerns about the economic impact of the new mutated Omikorn outbreak of the coronavirus and the Federal Reserve’s shift in monetary policy.

The Nikkei index closed down 0.65%, recording 27753.37 points, after falling by 1.04% earlier in the session.

The broader Topix index fell 0.54% to 1926.37 points, but it is hovering above its lowest level in three months, which was recorded on Wednesday at 1914.93.

Market sentiment sours after the Financial Times (FT) shares comments from Moderna’s Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel suggesting further hardships the South African variant of the coronavirus, dubbed as Omicron.

The chief executive of Moderna has predicted that existing vaccines will be much less effective at tackling Omicron than earlier strains of Covid-19 and warned it would take months before pharmaceutical companies can manufacture new variant-specific jabs at scale.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will decide on Thursday whether to put more oil on the market or restrict supply in light of large fluctuations in crude oil prices, the release of part of US oil reserves on the market, and fears of the fallout from the novel coronavirus mutant Omicron.

Brent crude prices fell to around $70 a barrel, down from their highs in October, when they topped $86, to hit a three-year high.