BANGKOK—Stocks were mostly higher in Europe and Asia after a broad rally on Wall Street as investors awaited U.S. employment and other data due out Friday.
Concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus variant and measures governments are taking to restrain it remained, but appeared to have been assuaged by reports that its symptoms seem to be mild and vaccines appear to protect against severe illness.
Germany’s DAX advanced 0.7 percent to 15,361.76. The CAC 40 in Paris added 0.5 percent to 6,831.75 and Britain’s FTSE 100 picked up 0.3 percent to 7,147.30.
The future for the Dow industrials gained 0.3 percent while that for the S&P 500 edged 0.1 percent higher.
Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Global Inc. said Friday it will pull out of the New York Stock Exchange and shift its listing to Hong Kong as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over tech industries.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to require that U.S.–listed foreign stocks like Didi’s disclose their ownership structures and audit reports, which could lead to some of them being delisted.
In another blow for China’s troubled property sector, Hong Kong-traded developer Kaisa Group said it had failed to get the required approvals from bond holders to extend the deadline on payment on $400 million of 6.5 percent offshore bonds. It had wanted to have the new notes be due on June 6, 2023, at the same interest rate.
The aim was to relieve financial pressure and the plan’s failure to go through raises the risk of a default.
In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.1 percent to 23,766.69, while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo regained lost ground, gaining 1 percent to 29,029.57. In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 0.8 percent to 2,968.33. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2 percent to 7,241.20. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.9 percent to 3,607.43.
Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing company Grab fell 20.5 percent in its market debut Thursday, following a $40 billion merger in a special purpose acquisition company deal.
The S&P 500 rose 1.4 percent on Thursday, its biggest gain since mid-October, to 4,577.10. The Dow gained 1.8 percent to 34,639.79. The Nasdaq added 0.8 percent to 15,381.32, held back by a modest drop in Apple, which fell 0.6 percent.
The Russell 2000 jumped 2.7 percent to 2,206.33.
The recent rebound may prove to be short-lived, Craig Erlam of Oanda said in a commentary.
“Early signs aren’t promising given the rate of case increases in South Africa and the fact that omicron is already popping up in numerous other countries,” Erlam said. Investors may be “hoping for positive news on the vaccine effectiveness against the new strain and taking advantage of these levels before it’s too late. If they don’t get the news they’re hoping for, we could see another sharp move lower.”
The rally comes as investors try to gauge the amount of damage the omicron variant of COVID-19 and measures the U.S. and other governments are taking to restrain it might inflict on the economy.
Countries have been imposing barriers to travel and stricter restrictions on businesses and people. Concerns about global restrictions potentially crimping economic growth joined worries over rising inflation, which has prompted the Federal Reserve to consider withdrawing stimulus measures sooner than expected.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was steady at 1.44 percent.
U.S. crude oil prices rose after OPEC and allied oil-producing countries decided Thursday to stick to their plans to boost output via steady, modest monthly increases in oil releases, even as the omicron variant adds more uncertainty over the global economic recovery from the pandemic. Energy companies gained ground. Chevron rose 2.7 percent.
U.S. benchmark crude oil had gained $2.12 cents to $68.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the standard for pricing international oils, gained $2.25 cents to $71.92 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 113.41 Japanese yen from 113.06 yen late Thursday. The euro slipped to $1.1297 from $1.1300.
