Dow declined 90 with selling in the last hour, advancers over decliners about 2-1 & NAZ fell 24. The MLP index was up fractionally to 176 & the REIT index went up 1+ to 511. Junk bond funds inched higher & Treasuries were in modest demand. Oil was a little higher in the 76s & gold rose 10 to 1816 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) advised people against going on cruises regardless of their vaccination status after a recent surge in positive Covid cases onboard ships as the highly contagious omicron variant sweeps the world. The CDC increased its travel warning for cruises to the highest level as the agency is investigating or observing dozens of ships that have had Covid outbreaks. Cruise ships operating in US waters have reported about 5000 Covid cases to the CDC between Dec 15-29, a major spike compared to the first 2 weeks of the month when 162 cases were reported. “It is especially important that travelers who are at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide, regardless of vaccination status,” the CDC added. The CDC warned that Covid transmits easily between people in close quarters on ships & the chance of catching the virus on a cruise is very high even for people who are vaccinated & have received a booster dose. Facemasks should also be worn in shared spaces. Passengers who are not fully vaccinated should self-quarantine for 5 days after travel. Covid cases in the US have surged to a pandemic high. The US reported a 7-day average of more than 300K daily new Covid cases as of yesterday, an increase of 82% from last week. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that omicron is driving the rapid increase in Covid cases.
U.S. CDC says people should ‘avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status’
China's industrial and tech hub of Xian reported more than 100 new cases of COVID-19, taking its tally of locally transmitted infections to the highest in any Chinese city this year. Xian reported 155 new local cases for Dec 29. That takes its number of local infections to more than 1100 since the flare-up began on Dec 9 & compelled authorities to put the city of 13M under lockdown. Despite the low case count compared with clusters in many cities around the world, Xian officials have imposed tough curbs on travel within & out of the city since Dec 23, as Beijing demands each outbreak be contained quickly. "Xian has reached a live-or-die stage in its fight against the virus," Zhang Fenghu, a city gov official, told a news conference. Samsung Electronics & Micron Technology (MU), 2 of the world's largest memory-chip makers, have warned that the lockdown could affect their chip manufacturing bases in the area. Xian is also a major tourism destination, drawing visitors to its collection of terracotta warriors buried with China's first emperor more than 2000 years ago. Authorities have embarked on multiple rounds of citywide testing to trace transmissions. A 6th round began today, a day after a 5th round. Many residents have been barred from leaving their housing compounds unless going out to take COVID-19 tests or attend to essential matters approved by authorities.
Chinese city Xian battles COVID-19 peak for the year
The World Health Organization warned that new coronavirus variants could emerge during the pandemic that render the current vaccines useless. “As this pandemic drags on, it’s possible that new variants could evade our countermeasures and become fully resistant to current vaccines or past infection, necessitating vaccine adaptations,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Tedros sounded that alarm as Covid cases hit record highs in many nations, including in the US. The latest surge, coming more than 21 months after WHO first declared Covid a pandemic, is fueled by the spread of the new & highly transmissible omicron variant. Tedros reiterated his frequent calls for nations to work together to improve global supplies & access to Covid vaccines & other crucial health equipment. He also slammed the “populism” & “short-term nationalism” of some political leaders that he said has “undermined equity and created the ideal conditions for the emergence of new variants.” “Misinformation and disinformation, often spread by a small number of people, have been a constant distraction undermining science and trust in lifesaving health tools,” he added & noted that “in the huge waves of cases currently seen in Europe and in many countries around the world, misinformation which has driven vaccine hesitancy is now translating to the unvaccinated disproportionately dying.” Covid vaccines are still effective at preventing severe disease from omicron, experts say, but they are much less effective at preventing infection from omicron. Booster shots, on the other hand, significantly increase protection from symptomatic disease caused by omicron.
WHO warns vaccine-resistant Covid variants could emerge as pandemic drags on
Gold futures finished higher, despite firmness in the $ & a rally in stocks as investors became less concerned about the omicron variant of COVID slowing economic growth. Some slippage in Treasury yields limited the early downward tug for bullion & investors stepped in as the session progressed to support the commodity's advance above a psychologically significant price at $1800. Feb gold traded $8 higher (0.5%) to settle at $1814 an ounce, after declining 0.3% yesterday. Many technical investors see gold holding above $1800 as an important level that can signal positive or negative momentum. The $ index was trading up 0.2% at 96.15, as measured by the ICE Dollar Index & bullion gained as the currency rose & bond yields edged lower, & prices of the debt higher, indicating that investors may be picking up safe-haven assets in the remaining days of 2021, with 2022 expected to present further uncertainty even if the omicron variant proves to be less damaging to the global economy.
Gold ends higher Thursday, as buyers step in as 2021 winds down
US oil futures settled higher as fading concerns about the impact on the economy from the omicron variant of the coronavirus & signs of falling inventories helped to support year-end buying. Upbeat economic reports also provided support for energy bulls, as the Labor Dept data showed that 198K applied for unemployment benefits last week, leaving new jobless claims around a 52-year low amid the spread of omicron. Separately, the Chicago Business Barometer (Chicago PMI), rose to 63.1 in Dec up from 61.8 last month, with the report viewed as an early gauge of the Institute for Supply Management's more closely followed report on manufacturing activity next Tues. West Texas Intermediate crude for Feb traded 43¢ (0.6%) higher to settle at $76.99 a barrel, after the US benchmark rose 0.8% yesterday. The contract has posted 7 straight gains, marking the longest such advance since the 8-session period ended Feb 10. Feb Brent crude added 9¢ to finish at $79.32 a barrelafter rising 0.4% to the highest price since Nov 25 for the global benchmark. Brent has climbed for 4 straight sessions. Both contracts had pared early, modest losses to pivot higher in the middle of the session. Energy Information Administration data yesterday showed crude oil inventories fell by 3.6M barrels last week. Gasoline & distillate inventories also declined, indicating demand remained strong despite record Us COVID-19 cases. Global oil prices have rebounded by 50-60% in 2021 as fuel demand recovered to near pre-pandemic levels & output management by OPEC for most of the year erased a supply glut. OPEC+ will meet Jan 4 to decide whether to continue increasing output in Feb & the early speculation is that the organization will stand pat on its plan to raise overall monthly production by 400K per day starting in Jan.
U.S. oil ends near $77, adding to 5-week climb
Once again there was very little excitement in the stock market on low volume. The war with the virus is getting most of traders' attention. High inflation & the goings on in DC has been hardly noticed. Tomorrow the markets will be open for am ordinary day of trading.
Dow Jones Industrials
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