European equity markets are expected to rise after an encouraging study on Omicron. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,080.15 points (-0.68%), the CAC 40 at 6,765.52 points (-0.44%), the DAX 40 at 15,169.98 points (-0.61%), the FTSE 100 at 7,122.32 points (-0.10%), the SMI at 12,175.77 points (-0.01%), the AEX at 772.22 points (-0.84%), the BEL 20 at 4,123.99 points (-0.82%), the IBEX 35 at 8,241.70 points (-0.71%), the DJIA at 34,580.08 points (-0.17%), the Nasdaq at 15,085.47 points (-1.92%), the S&P 500 at 4,538.43 points (-0.84%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,927.37 points (-0.36%).

As regarding exchange rates, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opens at 1.1286 (-0.25%), EUR/JPY at 127.59 (-0.02%) and USD/JPY at 113.07   (+0.22%).

Investors will be attentive to the health situation in France, where a Defense Council is scheduled for Monday. The government could decide on new measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic while the number of cases has risen sharply in recent weeks. Also as part of Emmanuel Macron's trip to the Gulf, Airbus won an order for 26 civil helicopters from the Saudi company The Helicopter Company (THC) for an undisclosed amount.

European equity markets are expected to open higher on Monday, buoyed by hopes that the Omicron variant will not lead to a surge in new severe cases of Covid-19 and by higher crude oil prices. At 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 64 points, or 0.9%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 was up 139 points, or 0.9%, and that on the FTSE 100 was up 58 points, or 0.8%.

In Asia, the main stock market indices are trending lower on Monday morning, penalized by the warning of the real estate developer China Evergrande Group about a possible default on its debt. The Nikkei index closed down 0.4% in Tokyo, while the Hang Seng of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange lost 1.6% at the end of the session. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3%. Evergrande plunged 13.8% on Monday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, as the Chinese real estate developer warned of possible cross-defaults on its dollar bonds as it was asked to repay a debt of $ 260 million. Wall Street ended lower on Friday after a week marked by uncertainty caused by the appearance of the Omicron variant. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) lost 0.2% to 34,580.08 points. Weighed down by tech stocks, the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.8% to 4,538.43 points, and the Nasdaq fell 1.9% to 15,08.47 points.

U.S. Treasury yields hit their lowest level in several months on Friday, as concerns about monetary policy tightening in the United States and the Omicron variant weighed on the outlook for economic growth. The yield on the ten-year Treasury bond, the market's benchmark stock, closed at 1.342% on Friday, according to Tradeweb, down from 1.447% the day before. This is its lowest closing level since September 22. In the face of the highest inflation in decades, many investors are betting on a short-term rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed) next year. The yield on two-year Treasuries, which often rises when investors anticipate a tightening of central bank policy, ended Friday's session at 0.589 percent, up from about 0.27 percent in early October.

The euro retreats against the dollar on Monday morning, with the Omicron variant and the prospect of a tightening of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy raising concerns for global growth.

Oil contracts won more than 2% on Monday morning, buoyed by the announcement of a rise in the official selling prices of Saudi oil giant Aramco. At 7:30 a.m., the February Contract for North Sea Brent was worth $1.51, or 2.2%, to $71.39 a barrel. The January contract for light sweet crude (WTI) listed on the Nymex was up $1.64, or 2.4%, to $67.86 a barrel.