The Omicron strain continues to spread rapidly across the planet, but stock markets are not yet reacting

Analysts at JPMorgan believe US stocks still have significant upside potential. In their opinion, the main support for the indices is given by the news that the Omicron strain is less dangerous than expected and the stabilization of business activity in China.

According to Bloomberg, chip delivery times are rising again due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant and new restrictions so that chip shortages will continue.

According to Reuters, 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November, a record high. Investors now look forward to the nonfarm payrolls data coming out Friday and the weekly jobless claims data that will be published on Thursday.

The US set a new global daily record of more than 1 million infections in 24 hours.

Protests erupted in Kazakhstan over rising fuel prices. The President of Kazakhstan imposed a state of emergency in the Mangistau region and the city of Almaty from January 5 to January 19. The state of emergency includes the introduction of a curfew from 23.00 to 7.00, restrictions on freedom of movement, including vehicles, and restrictions on entry and exit from Almaty and Mangistau region. The Internet in the country has malfunctioned, with local media reporting that the messengers Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal have stopped working.

Following the OPEC+ meeting, representatives decided to stick to their plan to increase oil production by 400,000 bpd in February. OPEC+ countries also agreed that the oil market is currently in a state of equilibrium.

Australia reported 47,738 new daily cases, the highest since the pandemic began.

Japan’s Sony announced plans to create an electric car company, Mobility. The new Sony Mobility company will begin operations in the spring of 2022. At CES in 2020, Sony unveiled a prototype of the Vision-S electric car. In December of the same year, the car was first tested on European roads, and in April, Sony conducted a test drive using remote control via the 5G network. Now, the company has announced a new phase in developing the Vision-S. Sony has unveiled a prototype of a new electric car, the Vision-S 02, with safety as a priority for the company.

Shares of Chinese real estate developer Evergrande showed a slight rise after trading resumed, even though the company needs to demolish 39 buildings on Hainan, which were found illegal. The demolition is the latest move by local authorities to seize some of Evergrande’s valuable land assets. Evergrande is thus trying to pay off more than $300 billion in liabilities, including nearly $20 billion in internationally traded bonds.