Futures Pointing To Sharply Lower Open On Wall Street

[ADVFN]( [[Global Email] World Daily Markets Bulletin]( Monday, 20 December 2021 09:02:29 [ADVFN Twitter]( [Monitor]( [Quote]( [Charts]( [News]( [Toplists]( [Boards]( [How Pro Traders Actually Pick Their Stocks]( When a stock skyrockets, we?re eager to see if it will continue to push higher or reverse course. And there is one way to know what?s coming next, but it isn?t what you think. It?s the only guaranteed way to get answers. [Check out this must-see tool for predictive analysis.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- US Market Bitcoin [Bitcoin]( DAX [DAX]( Dow Jones [Dow Jones]( Nasdaq [Nasdaq]( The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open on Monday, with stocks likely to add to the steep losses posted last week. Concerns about the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus are likely to contribute to continued weakness on Wall Street. With the World Health Organization saying the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, traders seem worried the new strain could derail the global economic recovery. The spread of the Omicron variant could also lead to further global supply chain issues, which have contributed to elevated inflation. Following the pullback seen on Thursday, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Friday but largely maintained a negative bias. The-tech heavy Nasdaq saw particular volatility following the steep drop seen on Thursday. The Dow and the S&P 500 closed firmly in the red, while the Nasdaq posted a much more modest loss. While the Nasdaq edged down 10.75 points or 0.1 percent to 15,169.68, the Dow tumbled 532.20 points or 1.5 percent to 35,365.44 and the S&P 500 slumped 48.03 points or 1 percent to 4,620.64. The major averages all showed notable moves to the downside for the week. The Nasdaq plunged by 2.9 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 dove by 1.7 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. The volatility on Wall Street came on a "quadruple witching" day, with stock options, index options, stock futures and index futures all expiring. A lack of major U.S. economic data may also have contributed to the choppy trading, as traders look ahead to next week's reports on consumer confidence, personal income and spending, durable goods orders and new and existing home sales. Traders also seem to be expressing conflicting reactions to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The markets initially seemed relieved the Fed's move to accelerate the reduction in its asset purchases to $30 billion per month was not as aggressive as some had feared. The Fed's forecast for three interest rates hikes next year also eliminated some uncertainty, although traders now seem to be grappling with the reality of sooner-than-expected rate hikes. Concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus also weighed on the markets along with worries about ongoing supply chain issues. Banking stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the KBW Bank Index down by 2.8 percent. Early in the session, the index hit its lowest intraday level in almost three months. Considerable weakness was also visible among oil stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Oil Index. The sell-off by oil stocks came amid a step drop by the price of crude oil. Pharmaceutical, housing and chemical stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, while notable strength was visible among biotechnology, airline and networking stocks. In the biotech sector, Novavax (NVAX) spiked 11.5 percent after the World Health Organization gave emergency approval to the biotech company's coronavirus vaccine. --------------------------------------------------------------- [MUST SEE 'Set and Forget' Dividend Portfolio]( The easiest way to self-manage your dividend income portfolio without losing a ton of money is following my advice below. Dividend stocks I personally recommend and buy myself are meant to held for a long time. One of my current dividend payers to 'set and forget' for now is paying over 25% yields. There?s a process I follow to build this dividend portfolio that grows and ends up paying your bills for life. See how easy it is to follow. [Click here to see how this 'set and forget' dividend portfolio works.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Economic Reports CADUSD [CADUSD]( Oil [Oil]( Gold [Gold]( EURUSD [EURUSD]( The Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of November at 10 am ET. The leading economic index is expected to increase by 0.8 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------- Europe European stocks have tumbled on Monday as surging Omicron Covid-19 cases prompted tighter restrictions in Europe, threatening fresh disruptions across global supply chains. France and Austria tightened travel restrictions, while Paris canceled its New Year's Eve firework celebration. Germany has ruled out a Christmas lockdown but warned a fifth wave could no longer be stopped. Concerns about the deadlock over U.S. President Joe Biden's $1.75 trillion investment bill have also weighed, on the markets, with Goldman Sachs cutting its forecast for U.S. economic growth for most of next year. While the German DAX Index has plummeted by 1.9 percent, the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1 percent. Novo Nordisk A/S has plummeted. The Danish drug maker announced late on Friday that manufacturing snags at a contract supplier would make it unable to meet demand in the U.S. for its blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy. French commercial real estate company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has also tumbled. The company announced a deal to sell its Solna Centrum, a metro station and shopping mall in Stockholm, to Alecta Fastigheter, an arm of Swedish pension fund Alecta, for 2.8 billion Swedish Krona or around 272 million euros. Oil & gas firm BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell have also moved sharply lower as oil prices plunge on worries that a rise in Omicron Covid-19 cases would stall economic growth and dent fuel demand. Rio Tinto has also shown a notable move to the downside. Canada's departing ambassador to Beijing has been appointed chair of the global miner. AstraZeneca has also dropped. The drug maker said that its lupus treatment Saphnelo has been recommended for marketing authorization in the European Union. Rolls-Royce Holding shares have also fallen. The company has reached an agreement under which Qatar will invest in the aerospace firm's small modular reactor business. Meanwhile, the Sage Group has edged up slightly. The software firm has agreed to acquire Brightpearl, a cloud native multichannel retail management system for retailers and wholesalers. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Asia USDCAD [USDCAD]( USDEUR [USDEUR]( USDGBP [USDGBP]( USDJPY [USDJPY]( Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday, as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continued to spread around the world and expectations grew that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates more aggressively next year. China?s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 38.76 points, or 1.1 percent, to 3,593.60 despite the People's Bank of China cutting its lending benchmark loan prime rate for the first time in 20 months in a bid to prop up growth in the world's second-largest economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 1.9 percent lower at 22,744.86. Japanese shares tumbled as the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant stoked fears of stagflation and an economic slowdown. The Nikkei 225 Index plunged 607.87 points, or 2.1 percent, to 27,937.81 in its biggest percentage loss since November 26. The broader Topix closed 2.2 percent lower at 1,941.33. Online financial group SBI Holdings gave up 6.7 percent as an activist investor group sold all of their stake in Shinsei Bank to SBI, which gained the control of the bank. Peers Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities fell 5.1 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. Australian markets finished slightly lower, with energy stocks declining as oil prices dropped around 3 percent on concerns over the outlook for fuel demand. Woodside Petroleum, Beach Energy and Santos lost 3-5 percent. Investment management company Magellan Financial Group slumped almost 33 percent after losing its biggest institutional client. Contractor CIMIC plunged 13.4 percent after analyst downgrade and wages problems, with multiple employees publicly claiming non-payment of wages, leave and end of service benefits or compensation. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 11.80 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,292.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index dropped 24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,602.20. Seoul stocks posted their worst session in 3 weeks as tighter Covid-19 curbs in Europe and elsewhere triggered a steep sell-off by foreign investors. The Kospi fell 54.73 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,963, marking the lowest close since December 2. Tech heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell around 1.2 percent each, while web portal operator Naver lost 3 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a full view of the market? Level 2 lets you see all of the orders to buy and sell shares, allowing you to see what is really going on in the market. If you don?t have this in your trading toolkit, you?re at a serious disadvantage. [Learn More / Upgrade]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Crude oil futures are plunging $3.07 to $67.79 a barrel after tumbling $1.52 to $70.86 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $6.70 to $1,804.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $6.90 to $1,798 an ounce. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 113.58 yen versus the 113.63 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1283 compared to last Friday?s $1.1240. --------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this news bulletin or edit your mailing list settings click [here](. Registered Office/Accounts Dept: Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gable, Fyfield Road, Ongar, CM5 0GA. Customer Support +1 888-992-3836. 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