Kaohoon Morning Brief – 21 December 2021

1) Omicron became the dominant strain in the U.S.

The Covid-19 omicron variant that was discovered in late November is now a dominant strain in the U.S. at 73% of cases, according to data published Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The data showed that the previous dominant strain, delta, is now an estimated 26.6% of sequenced cases for the week ending December 18, 2021, which was a significant change considering that a week earlier, delta represented 87% of cases to omicron’s 12.6%.

 

2) Eyes on Thai cabinet meeting for EV support package

Investors in the Thai stock market will monitor the cabinet meeting, scheduled to meet this afternoon, in anticipation for more stimulus packages to boost the Thai economy at the end of this year amid concerns over the Covid-19 omicron variant that could become a dominant strain if not carefully monitored. The main focus will be the EV support from the government sector as the country is moving forward to carbon neutrality.

 

3) Australia’s central bank is optimistic on economic recovery despite omicron variant

Australia’s central bank gave an optimistic view on the spread of the Covid-19 omicron variant, believing that it will not derail an ongoing economic recovery, which will pave the way to a gradual lowering of its quantitative easing.

“The emergence of the Omicron variant was a new source of uncertainty, but it was not expected to derail the recovery,” the minutes released from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) on Tuesday showed.

 

4) Wall Street and oil market crashed on report of first death from omicron in U.S.

Wall Street crashed last night after the reported of a first death from omicron while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially stated that the omicron variant has taken over delta as the dominant strain.

Last night, Dow Jones fell 1.23%, S&P 500 dropped 1.14% and Nasdaq decreased 1.24%. Meanwhile, Brent crude closed 2.7% lower to finish Monday at $71.52 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate closed the day at $68.23 per barrel, down 3.7%.