Business news: Omicron fears subside, UK inflation rises
By Jenny McCall
11:43, 4 January 2022
Key points
- Inflation rises: The New Year welcomed in some unsurprising news from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which confirmed that inflation was up in the month of December. UK shoppers dealt with significant price inflation, which increased from 0.3% in November to 0.8%. On average, prices have decreased by 0.9% over the last 12 months.
- Airline boom: The airline industry received good news as stocks surged on the London Stock Exchange. Signs that Omicron cases are now declining led to low-cost carriers such as Wizz Air (WIZZ) and easyJet (EZJ) stock up by 9.96% and 7.34% respectively, along with cruise operator Carnival (CCL), which was up 7.7% in the first hour of trading.
W Covid cases in London now decreasing + UK slowing - it is great to see no real change in Covid deaths over last month. The health crisis is in danger of being driven by staff problems due to over- cautious isolation rules. Lets reduce this to 5 days! https://t.co/htgMs3Hv0V
— Tim Spector (@timspector) January 3, 2022
Business and economic news
- Apple (APPL) became the first company to hit a $3trn stock market value. Investors believe the technology company will keep launching high-profile, best-selling products, as it looks to launch into automated cars and virtual reality.
- Stock prices for the Japanese automobile company Toyota Motor closed over 6% higher today, as media reports emerged that the company would launch its own automotive software platform by 2025. The stock saw its best day in nearly two years.
BREAKING: Apple becomes the first company in history to reach a market value of $3 trillion pic.twitter.com/AocjqZX9tN
— Fintwit (@fintwit_news) January 3, 2022
Markets today
- Stocks: The FTSE 100 reached an almost two-year high today in the first day of trading for the New Year. Investors are banking on the Omicron variant dying down and expect cases to start declining. Australian and Japanese stock markets also opened on a high today, rising over 1% each, on the back Wall Street closing at record highs overnight.
- Oil: Oil prices were steady today as investors expected major producers to stay with their planned output increase, amid decreasing concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant. Brent crude was up 0.3%, at $79.20 a barrel at 0939 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by 0.3%, to $76.29 a barrel.
- Gold: Gold prices gained on Tuesday amid curbs to contain the spread of Omicron coronavirus cases. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,806.20 per ounce by 0109 GMT.
- Forex: The Turkish lira fell by 4% against the dollar today as Turkey braced itself for inflation to rise higher after touching a 19-year peak.
- Crypto: Bitcoin (BTC) was down 1.34% today and Ethereum (ETH) was up 0.09% today in mid-morning trading.
#Gold/Turkish Lira vs US Dollar/Turkish Lira (Inverted)
— ???????? ????????????????Dan Popescu ???????????????????????? (@PopescuCo) January 4, 2022
(XAU/TRY vs USD/TRY, 2000-Jan22) pic.twitter.com/PupaYDfNtr
What to watch today
- Germany saw employment improve in November 2021, however data from Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) shows that it was still below pre-pandemic levels.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported today that the Omicron variant produces milder symptoms than previous variants such as Delta.
- More evidence is emerging that the Omicron coronavirus variant is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.
Read more: UK retail price inflation up in December, set to rise further
Markets in this article
Related topics