U.S. equity futures gained with oil as traders mull the omicron variant’s impact on the global economic recovery.

New Zealand’s currency rose against the dollar in holiday-thinned trading with major markets including Australia, Japan and China shut. There’s no cash trading of Treasuries in Asia. Asian stocks were mixed with equities rallying in South Korea while dipping in Hong Kong.

Trader “sentiments may attempt to ride on the Santa Claus rally to deliver a positive start for the first trading day in 2022,” said Jun Rong Yeap, market strategist at IG Asia. “While the rising Omicron spreads may warrant a cautious approach toward reopening, some expectations may be that improved vaccinations will aid to limit the eventual economic impact.”

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% as of 9:53 a.m. in Hong Kong
  • Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.5%
  • South Korea’s Kospi index advanced as much as 1.1%
  • Hang Seng Index was flat

Currencies

  • The Japanese yen dropped 0.2% to 115.25
  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1%
  • The euro fell 0.1% to 1.1356

Commodities

  • West Texas Intermediate crude was at $75.57 a barrel, up 0.5%
  • Gold was little changed at $1,828.06 an ounce