In Asian Equity Markets a global share rally continued in early Asian trading on Thursday and the safe haven dollar was on the back foot as markets took cheer from positive signs about the impact of the omicron variant of COVID-19 and U.S. economic data. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.3 percent and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6 percent, a third successive session of gains after taking a jolt on Monday when fears about the new strain of coronavirus gripped markets and pushed investors to safe haven assets.

In Currency Markets the safe-haven dollar languished near an almost one-week low against its major peers on Thursday as investors adopted a more optimistic stance about the global economic outlook, despite the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar was steady at $0.72125 following Wednesday’s 0.86 percent rise. Sterling was little changed at $1.33515 after a 0.63 percent rally. The euro was about flat at $1.13325 after a 0.33 percent overnight advance. The dollar was little changed at 114.16 yen.

In US Equity Markets main indexes powered higher on Wednesday in a broad rally after upbeat economic data and hopeful developments about the severity of the Omicron coronavirus variant that is sweeping the world. The Dow rose 0.74 percent, to 35,753.89, the S&P 500 gained 1.02 percent, to 4,696.56 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.18 percent, to 15,521.89. Tesla Inc shares rose 7.5 percent, boosting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said in an interview he has sold “enough stock” following several weeks of share sales by the billionaire.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Wednesday after a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. inventories, shaking off worries about the likely hit to economic activity from the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Brent crude futures ended the day up 1.8 percent, to $75.29 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $72.76 a barrel, up 2.3 percent. Spot gold was last up 0.7 percent at $1,801.24 per ounce. Spot silver gained 1.2 percent to $22.76 per ounce, platinum jumped 3.8 percent to $970.20 and palladium rose 5.8 percent to $1,896.01.

In European Equity Markets stocks ended on Wednesday at near one-week highs, led by gains in technology and industrial stocks, even as investors worried about the outlook for global recovery amid a rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. The pan-European STOXX 600 climbed 0.8 percent, adding to a 1.4 percent jump in the previous session. Technology shares led gains, followed by industrials, travel and construction-related stocks. Container shipping giant Maersk gained 0.9 percent after agreeing to buy Hong Kong-based LF Logistics for $3.6 billion in an all-cash deal.

In Bond Markets longer-term U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Wednesday, flattening the yield curve, as traders seemed to discount the threat of persistent inflation. The benchmark 10-year yield was down 3 basis points at 1.4566 percent in afternoon trading, giving back some of the increase it posted on Tuesday. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield was down less than a basis point at 0.6667 percent. The bond-buying pushed down a closely watched part of the U.S. Treasury yield curve measuring the gap between yields on two- and 10-year Treasury notes, seen as an indicator of economic expectations.