Omicron Woes Weigh on the Markets

Markets remained driven by Omicron variant-related news and its economic implications, as well as forecasts of faster tapering and earlier rate hikes.

During the week, the oil, industrials, real estate, and financials sectors had led a broad recovery bounce back from previous sessions with investors taking advantage of the drop to buy cyclical companies connected to the economic recovery.

US Stock Market News

Following an Omicron-driven sell-off the previous session, stocks rallied dramatically on Thursday, with cyclical names recouping some of their recent losses. Thursday’s session saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 617.75 points to 34,639.79, thanks to a 7.5 percent increase in Boeing’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Down

In pre-market trade on Friday, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) had been up more than 5% after the cosmetics business boosted its fiscal year sales target. Ulta (ULTA) forecasted net revenues of $8.5 billion to $8.6 billion, with comparable-store sales growth of 36 percent to 37 percent.

DocuSign Hit Hard – Too Big Too Soon?

DocuSign’s (NASDAQ: DOCU) stock dropped over 40% on Friday after the e-signature software maker issued a prediction for the rest of the year that fell short of analysts’ expectations.

US Gold Market

Gold and gold stocks found support after the recent falls. Investors are weighing the attractiveness of the metal as a inflationary hedge against the US Federal Reserve officials effectiveness in managing rates and tapering.

US Oil Market

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia, and their allies, collectively known as OPEC+, warned it will evaluate supply additions ahead of its next planned meeting if the Omicron variant dampens demand, although prices fell for the fifth week.

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