Naive Trader

Whiplash moves in the market driven by Omicron fears continued today. Optimism gained over the weekend as doctors reported mild symptoms for Omicron cases, and it seems vaccines are still effective against the new variant. The positive outlook helped drive markets higher today.

Omicron fears continued to drive a volatile week while investors tried to understand the impact of mixed employment data on Fed bond purchase tapering.

Markets bounced back from the Omicron fear-driven declines this week. The gains were broad across the market, sending all S&P 500 sectors higher. Yet, there is still progress to be made before investors can feel comfortable.

Fears over omicron continued to put pressure on markets, despite optimism that drove a morning rally. Not only did the US find its first case of the new variant, but the Fed’s Jerome Powell signaled that inflation might not recede next year as previously thought. The two caused markets to give up early gains and decline further.

Lower consumer confidence and elevated Omicron fears sent stocks lower while Jerome Powell piled on with news of an accelerated bond tapering timeline.

Investors reassessed the risks of the new Omicron variant and determined the impact may be less than initially thought on Friday. Equities rose while bond yields declined. All S&P 500 sectors gained for the day, despite gains not being broadly shared across individual stocks.

Few stocks avoided the sell-off on Friday as investors fled the market on fears of a significant new variant of the Coronavirus. Treasury Yields dropped as money moved from equities to bonds.

Mixed economic data caused a dip in the morning before indexes reversed and mostly closed higher. Trading volume was significantly lower on the day before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Big tech and growth stocks continued their slide on Tuesday as Treasury Yields rise in anticipation of action from the Fed on inflation.

After setting new record highs in two indexes, markets sold off quickly, ending the day with losses after President Biden decided to give Jerome Powell another term as the Fed Chairman.