European stocks and Wall Street stock futures rallied on Tuesday, as fears about the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant eased and Chinese authorities signaled efforts to stimulate the slowdown in the economy. economy of the country.

The regional Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.8 percent, as shares of technology, consumer, industrial and financial companies increased. London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.1%.

Futures markets also signaled gains for US tech stocks, which have traded volatile so far this month as Omicron concerns have prompted investors to leave start-ups and spark questions about coronavirus-related disruptions in semiconductor supply chains.

Futures following the technology-driven Nasdaq 100 index rose 1.6%. Those following the broader-based S&P 500 rose 1.2%.

The S&P 500 closed 1.2% higher on Monday after more than a week of Omicron-induced volatility and expectations that the US central bank would tighten monetary policy.

Scientists are still studying the severity of the Omicron variant and its potential to escape vaccines. Some early data from South Africa suggested that the strain could lead to less severe disease than previous waves of infections.

The UK government has imposed new travel restrictions and confirmed community transmission of the variant, while EU health ministers meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss a coordinated response to the latest wave of the virus.

“Further measures or measures to limit contact between individuals are probably needed,” said Emiel van den Heiligenberg, head of asset allocation at Legal & General Investment Management.

But “the impact on overall stock market earnings” from previous lockdowns “has been relatively short-term,” he added. “Our bet is that equity investors will take a look at it.”

Meanwhile, China’s central bank on Monday slashed the level of deposits lenders must set aside in a bid to add liquidity to the financial system, while the government’s top decision-making body pledged monetary policy ” flexible “.

“With their actions and words, Chinese policymakers are increasingly willing to relax their policies to counter the sharp slowdown in growth,” Wei He, Chinese analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics, said in a note.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stock index rose 2.7% while Tokyo’s Topix closed up 2.2%.

In government debt markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond rose 0.01 percentage point to around 1.45%, as the price of the safe-haven asset rose. is weakened.

Brent crude rose 2.5% to $ 74.94 a barrel.