The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both more than 1% higher, with many US traders returning to markets after the Thanksgiving holiday, when low volumes on Friday exacerbated selling pressure. The Dow Jones is in the green for the first of four sessions while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 are on track for their best day in over six weeks.

As the world scrambles to digest the Omicron threat, the feeling is that Friday’s panic sell was overblown, with many traders using it as an opportunity to buy the downside. Investors have responded well to the rapid imposition of travel restrictions by governments over the weekend and the mild to moderate symptoms of Omicron patients so far.

However, the impact on the markets and the economy depends on a series of unknowns, including the transmissibility of the variant, its resistance to the vaccine and the severity of the symptoms.

Moderna shares opened more than 7%, extending gains after rising more than 20% in Friday’s session after its chief medical officer said a reformulated vaccine could be ready early in the month. ‘next year. The company is fully focused on the task at hand, already testing three variant vaccine boosters and announcing a new variant-specific vaccine candidate against Omicron.

Investors are positively surprised at how quickly the biotech company has already started working on the new variant, with the response time allowing the stock price to return to its uptrend line after a 3 month decline. . Although the stock has given up nearly 30% of its gains since the August peak, Moderna stocks are still enjoying a 245% gain since the start of the year.