North American markets dropped on Wednesday after confirmation of the first Omicron case in the US. Stocks had advanced in the morning, only to fall back in the afternoon to end the day well below their starting point.
Alongside equities, Bitcoin (BTC) also dropped at the news of the new variant’s presence on American shores.
However, the story could be a bit brighter for Thursday, as DOW futures were in the green. This continues the see-saw nature of US markets since the emergence of Omicron.
Oil prices are in focus too, with OPEC expected to decide how to alter production in response to the new variant. As a decision is awaited, brent crude and WTI were both higher on Thursday morning.
| NASDAQ | S&P500 | Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|
| 15,254.05 (-1.83%) | 4,513.04 (-1.18%) | 56,642.07 (-0.64%) |
These are some of today’s trending stocks:
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GLAXO) was in the green after the pharmaceutical giant said lab work had shown that its antibody-based COVID-19 therapy was effective against the Omicron variant.
Jack Dorsey’s Square (NYSE: SQ) has confirmed plans to change its name to Block from 10 December. The payments company said the new name would give it room for growth and confirmed it would continue to trade under the same ticker.
Special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: DWAC) climbed following developments in its merger with Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group.
Snowflake Inc (NYSE: SNOW) is over 17% higher in premarket trading after its third quarter revenues smashed analyst expectations as it more than doubled. The outfit’s guidance for fourth quarter revenue was also better than expected.
Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ: ABUS) climbed as a court rejected a legal challenge from Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) regarding patents held by the company. The decision opens up the possibility for Arbutus to begin its own court proceedings against Moderna and seek royalties from the company’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Cloud authentication software specialist Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) shares slid on Wednesday even as the company reported strong third quarter earnings, with revenue rising by 61% to $350.7m.
Meanwhile, the top crypto stories are:
Polygon (MATIC) was on the rise following the news that 21Shares will list a product linked to the cryptocurrency’s performance on the Euronext exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam.
Executives from major cryptocurrency firms such as Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), Circle and Bitfury have been called to testify in front of a US Congressional Committee on 8 December, in a development that could spell the beginning of more stringent US regulation.
Finally, Biconomy (BICO), an Ethereum-based altcoin, has seen its price increase by more than 70% after being listed on the high-profile Coinbase exchange.