Yesterday, major US stock indices were traded without a single trend. The S&P 500 (US500) gained 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (US30) added 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Technology Index (US100) remained flat. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (US500) and Dow Jones (US30) indices closed at record highs on Wednesday.

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Biogen shares jumped more than 9% in a day after the Korea Economic Daily reported that the company was in talks about a possible sale to electronics giant Samsung (BIIB).

Medallion Financial Corp. shares plunged 50% to a 13-month low. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the company and its chief operating officer Andrew Murstein with engaging in fraudulent schemes to boost Medallion's stock price (MFIN).

The general director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, urged nations to vaccinate 70% of the global population against COVID-19 by July 1, 2022.

European stock indexes were mostly down yesterday. Germany's DAX (DE30) decreased by 0.7%, Spain's IBEX 35 (ES35) decreased by 0.2%, France's CAC 40 (FR40) lost 0.3%, while the British FTSE 100 (UK100) increased by 0.66%. The growth in many European countries negatively affects traders' moods. Also, many investors are fixing their positions on the eve of the New Year. The necessary wearing of masks on the streets will be introduced in Paris. Wearing masks on the streets of Paris will become compulsory from December 31 because of a sharp increase in the number of infections of the coronavirus, the prefecture of the capital's police said on Wednesday.

A study by Die Zeit newspaper shows that Germany is likely to fall short of its carbon dioxide reduction goals in the next two years.

Shares of Germany's Deutsche Bank fell by 1.4% yesterday. On Wednesday, it became known that the German Federal Financial Supervision Authority (BaFin) fined the bank €8.66 million for insufficient control of the system of providing data to calculate the interbank interest rate EURIBOR (Euro Interbank Offered Rate).

Yesterday, Asian stock markets closed in the red zone, except for Australia. Japanese index Nikkei 225 (JP225) decreased by 0.56%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HK50) added 0.83%, and Australia's ASX 200 (AU200) added +1.21%.

The US oil inventories dropped nearly 3.6 million barrels. In the background of such data, given the reduction of concerns about the impact of Omicron on demand for petroleum products, the energy market continues to rise. The US oil and gas executives are forecasting increased production and drilling activity next year as oil prices rise.

Main market quotes:

• S&P 500 (F) (US500) 4,793.06 +6.71 (+0.14%)
• Dow Jones (US30) 36,488.63 +90.42 (+0.25%)
• DAX (DE40) 15,852.25 −111.45 (−0.70%)
• FTSE 100 (UK100) 7,420.69 +48.59 (+0.66%)
• USD Index 95.91 −0.29 (−0.31%)

Important events for today:

• US Initial Jobless Claims (w/w) at 15:30 (GMT+2);
• US Chicago PMI (m/m) at 16:45 (GMT+2);
• US Natural Gas Storage (w/w) at 17:30 (GMT+2).