US reported the first Omicron case, stocks fell sharply, Yen approaching its 7-week high

Wall Street’s major indices fell more than 1% overnight, after the US confirmed the first Omicron case. All three indices breached their key technical levels during the session. Earlier in the week, the US Centers for Disease Control said that it would probably take 2 weeks to confirm the presence of the Omicron variant. The early detection indeed shocked the market. The first case traveled back from South Africa, where the variant was initially discovered.

Investors are worried that this more contagious variant would put the country into another round of lockdown. Meanwhile in South Africa, Omicron cases doubled in one day. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Omicron, the Fed reiterated its stance to speed up asset tapering. DXY Index was again back to the 96-level. On the other hand, JPY approached its 7-week high, currently trading at 113.07 per US Dollar, up 0.28%.