Stocks Slide, Safe Havens Gain as Omicron Worries Weigh

Stocks Slide, Safe Havens Gain as Omicron Worries Weigh
Currency traders talk to each other at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 17, 2021. Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo
Reuters
Updated:

NEW YORK—Global stock benchmarks and oil prices fell on Friday while safe havens such as the dollar and Treasury bonds rose as investors wrestled with a hawkish turn from major central banks in the fight against inflation and rising numbers of Omicron cases.

Asian shares closed near lows for the year and broad-based European stock benchmarks slid 0.5 percent. Treasury bonds yields, meanwhile, touched their lowest levels since early December.