In Asian Equity Markets Australian stocks closed lower on Monday for the second straight session, as the country reported its first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant over the weekend. The S&P/ASX 200 index settled 0.54 percent lower at 7,239.7 after falling more than 1 percent in early trade to its lowest in nearly two months. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 percent, but found support ahead of its 2021 low. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.8 percent as the country moved to bar foreigners to head off the Omicron strain.

In Currency Markets the dollar was up on Monday, with investors slowly regaining their risk appetite after the discovery of the omicron COVID-19 variant. However, caution remained as research continues on this new strain. The safe-haven yen, which had been the biggest beneficiary of the flight to quality, lost 0.25 percent to 113.75 per dollar. The euro, which jumped 0.98 percent on Friday as traders closed out short positions, fell 0.23 percent to $1.1290. Sterling was about flat at $1.3335, off Friday’s 11-month low at $1.3278. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar rose 0.37 percent to $0.7139.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed lower on Friday, with the Dow and S&P 500 suffering their biggest one-day percentage decline in months, and pandemic-hit sectors that had gained from a reopening falling sharply after a new coronavirus mutation was found. The Dow fell 2.53 percent, to 34,899.34; the S&P 500 lost 2.27 percent, to 4,594.62; and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.23 percent, to 15,491.66. Retailers fell 2.04 percent as Black Friday kicked off the holiday shopping season with worries that the new variant would depress store traffic and curb supply.

In Commodities Markets gold prices rose more than 1 percent on Friday, popping back above the pivotal $1,800 level as the discovery of a new coronavirus variant sent investors scurrying for safe havens. Spot gold had climbed 1.2 percent to $1,810.10 per ounce and U.S. gold futures jumped 1.7 percent to $1,813.80. Spot silver fell 0.1 percent to $23.60. Elsewhere, platinum fell 0.8 percent to $986.97 while palladium lost 1.4 percent to $1,834.18. Oil prices slid, with U.S. crude futures down 5.7 percent to $73.96 a barrel and Brent crude down 4.66 percent to $78.38 amid fresh demand fears.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell amid widespread selling on Friday, as reports of a newly identified and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant stoked fears of a fresh hit to the global economy and drove investors out of riskier assets. The benchmark STOXX 600 index ended 3.7 percent down in its worst session since June 2020, while the volatility gauge for the main stock market hit a near 10-month high. France’s CAC 40 shed 4.8 percent. UK’s FTSE 100 lost 3.6 percent, while Germany’s DAX fell 4.2 percent and Spain’s IBEX lost 5.0 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury debt yields on Friday posted their sharpest decline since the pandemic began as investors rushed toward safe-haven assets following the emergence of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield was down 14.2 basis points at 0.502 percent, the sharpest decline since March 2020. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 16.8 basis points to 1.477 percent. It last traded at these levels in early November. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down 14.2 basis points to 1.829 percent.