Bloomberg Línea — U.S. markets closed higher at the start of the last week of the year as they weigh up the effects of Omicron which, despite being more contagious, appears to be less severe than other variants of Covid-19.
The S&P 500 closed up 1.38% to 4,791.19 points and marked the 69th record for the index this year, while the Dow Jones gained 0.98% and the Nasdaq Composite 1.39%. Market behavior is following the trend of what is known as the “Santa Claus rally”, a seven-day period that includes the last five sessions of the year and the first two of the new year.
Over this period, every year since 1969 the S&P 500 has averaged a 1.3% gain, according to The Stock Trader’s Almanac.
“I think the capacity of the stock markets to scale the wall of uncertainty ”should not be underestimated”, Victoria Greene, founding partner and director of investments of G Squared Private Wealth, told Bloomberg TV.
Oil rose above $75 again as investors analyze the impact of Omicron on crude oil demand. WTI rose 2.63% to $75.73, while Brent gained 3.39% to close at $78.72.
Strong economic activity has contributed to “an increase in demand for oil”, John Kilduff, founding partner at Again Capital LLC, told Bloomberg.
In Latin America, the Argentine government is preparing the 2022 Fiscal Consensus for the provinces, while Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with Carlos Slim, the country’s richest man.
Here is our market roundup:
Colombia:
- The country’s statistics agency (Dane) announced the first data regarding the amount of public space for recreation in the country, according to a sample of eight territories, and which reveals that, across the country, a third of built areas correspond to spaces open to the public.
- Central bank data shows that, in November of this year, Colombians abroad sent $817.2 billion pesos ($204.3 million), and that the accumulated total for the first 11 months of the year surpasses the total for the whole of 2019 ($7.08 billion).
- Tourism has faced “critical times” during the pandemic, but those difficulties are expected to become opportunities in 2022 with the same rhythm of recovery reached in late 2021, the executive president of Colombia’s travel agents’ association (Anato), Paula Cortés Calle, said in an interview with Bloomberg Línea.
Argentina:
- The government will today sign the 2022 Fiscal Consensus with 21 provincial governments, in a measure that is expected to increase tax collection at provincial level after the 2022 Budget Law failed to garner majority support in Congress.
- Argentine exports increased by 37% year-on-year in November of this year, the highest level since 2012, according to Argentina’s state news agency Télam, based on a foreign trade report published by the Foreign Ministry. With a total of $6.16 billion in exports in November, the automotive sector had its best performance in eight years.
- The Federal Public Income Administration (AFIP) on Monday announced the new values for tax payments from January 1, 2022, with an average increase of 26% for monthly payments and 61.2% for the caps on invoicing for each category.
Mexico:
- Telecoms giant América Móvil, which is owned by Carlos Slim and which sold its TracFone Wireless subsidiary to a U.S. company last month, paid the Treasury 28 billion pesos ($1.35 billion) on December 16, according to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
- The country’s Treasury (SHCP) will mull the best option to manage and pay around $1.2 billion in debt that it will inherit when state oil company Pemex buys an oil refinery in Houston from Royal Dutch Shell Plc, according to Bloomberg.
- Walton Street Mexico, a private capital real estate investment trust, issued its latest Certificate of Investment Projects (Cerpi) of the year on the Mexican Stock Exchange. With the ticker symbol WACERPI 21D, the investment vehicle will be issued for a maximum of $56 million.
Panama:
- With a new route between Atlanta and Panama, as well as an increase in frequency between Panama and Argentina, Copa Airlines is seeking to recoup some of the losses from the near-two-year impact of Covid-19 on international air travel.
Venezuela:
- The National Assembly led by the Venezuelan opposition has granted preliminary authorization for a reform of a statute that would allow a one-year extension to the opposition parliamentary body, and which leaves Juan Guaidó in place as the leader of the parallel government.
Peru:
- On Monday the last week of the year began with good news for Peruvians as the price of the U.S. dollar in Peru, an important economic indicator due to the use of the currency in the country, closed the day with a loss, dropping below the four-sol threshold, which had not happened since November 16.
