Europe: Stocks attempt rebound at open

[LONDON] European stock markets attempted to rebound in opening deals on Wednesday, in a rollercoaster week that has been jarred by fears over the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

In initial trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index as up 1.0 per cent to 7,131.03 points on the first day of December.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX added 0.9 per cent to 15,238.16 points and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.9 per cent to 6,779.40.

"Investors enter the final month of the year in reflective mood, as the Omicron variant adds to the list of concerns on the wall of worry," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at trading firm Interactive Investor.

He added: "Even though there is insufficient information on the latest variant fully to assess the impact, there is an increasing feeling that any fallout would be less severe than that seen in the initial pandemic."

Asian equities mostly rose Wednesday and oil prices bounced after top drugs makers offered differing opinions on their vaccines' efficacy against Omicron and the Federal Reserve took a hawkish pivot on monetary policy.

Global stocks and oil had sunk Tuesday as Moderna warned current vaccines might be less effective at fending off Omicron.

Sentiment was also hit as data showed that eurozone inflation spiked to a record high on runaway energy costs in November.

AFP