LONDON — European markets are set to slide on Monday, as the rapid spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant triggers stricter containment measures across the continent.
Britain’s FTSE 100 is set to fall around 121 points to 7,149, Germany’s DAX is expected to drop around 330 points to 15,202 and France’s CAC 40 is seen down around 150 points to 6,777, according to IG data.
The Netherlands entered full lockdown on Sunday until mid-January, and the possibility of tighter restrictions being imposed over the Christmas holidays and into the new year looms over a number of European countries amid an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases.
From Monday, only German citizens, residents and transit passengers will be allowed to enter Germany from the U.K., with all inbound travelers required to quarantine for 14 days irrespective of vaccination status. Travel restrictions were also imposed for arrivals from Denmark, Norway and France.
Austria will only allow entry to vaccinated travelers from Monday.
Cases have also begun to spiral stateside, with New York state and the District of Columbia posting record daily cases for consecutive days.
Stock futures fell sharply in early premarket trade stateside, indicating a negative open on Wall Street as omicron concerns and the Federal Reserve’s impending tightening of monetary policy weighed on sentiment.
Stocks in Asia-Pacific also pulled back overnight with Japanese markets leading losses. Meanwhile, China slashed its benchmark lending rate for the first time in more than a year and a half.
On the data front, October’s euro area current account figure will be published Monday morning.
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