Roche Holding AG has received emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Covid 19 test for home use. The test will be available nationwide starting in January, the Swiss pharmaceutical company said. It said the kit provides accurate results in 20 minutes for all known variants of the virus, including Omikron. The test was prioritized by the FDA because of the ability of Roche and SD Biosensor Inc - with which Roche has a global distribution agreement - to supply large quantities and ramp up production to meet future demand. Roche has the capacity to produce tens of millions of tests per month, the company said. The stock rose 0.9 percent.

In the last trading week of the year, the Swiss stock market continued its record-breaking streak. At its peak, the SMI exceeded its old all-time high of December 16 by a good 70 points. The SMI gained 0.6 percent to 12,867 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 19 price gainers and one loser. Turnover was 16.81 (previously: 22.96) million shares. Participants observed purchases in defensive stocks. For example, Lonza rose 1.8 percent and Alcon 1.2 percent, the shares have each gained well over 30 percent this year. Under-performing shares were also sought after. Thus, against the trend in travel stocks Dufry rose by 1.8 percent. Dufry lost about 20 percent in 2021. Globally, however, the travel sector was sold off due to the spread of the Omikron variant of the coronavirus. Gains were recorded by cyclicals such as ABB (+0.9%) or Holcim (+0.9%).

European equity markets ended higher Monday as investors put the disruption caused by the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus into perspective. The pan continental Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%. Markets in the U.K. were closed. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 gained 0.8% and 0.7% respectively. In Frankfurt the DAX 40 advanced 0.5%. Covid-related healthcare stocks rose sharply. The biotech company Valneva, which is developing a vaccine against the coronavirus, jumped 4.8%, posting the strongest gain on the SBF 120. Eurofins and Sartorius Stedim Biotech, which makes tests to detect the disease, rose 1.8% and 1.7% respectively, buoyed by the spread of the Omicron variant. Airline-related stocks lost ground. ADP gave up 1% and Air France-KLM 0.2% while Lufthansa fell 0.5% in Frankfurt. Ipsen shares gained 1%. The activist investment fund Parvus Asset Management Europe Limited crossed the threshold of 5% of the pharmaceutical company's capital, according to a notice published on Friday by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). Steel producer Aperam (+1.8%) announced on Monday that it had finalized the acquisition of ELG, a group specializing in the recycling of steel scrap, from German investment company Franz Haniel & Cie. The transaction was carried out based on an enterprise value of 357 million euros for 100% of ELG's capital.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday as the few investors staying on Wall Street capitalized on what is traditionally a lightly attended but bullish week, sending the S&P 500 to another record high. The S&P 500 rose 65.40 points, or 1.4%, to 4791.19, setting its 69th record close of 2021. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 217.89 points, or 1.4%, to 15871.26, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 351.82 points, or 1%, to 36302.38. Some companies however were still being affected by the pandemic. Flight cancellations marred Christmas weekend for many travelers, as Covid-19 left carriers short-staffed to operate busy schedules over the holiday. United Airlines Holdings declined 0.7% to $44.58 and American Airlines Group shed 0.5% to $18.17. GoDaddy shares added 8.4% to $82.35 after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Starboard Value has a sizable stake in the domain registrar and plans to push it to boost its performance. Meanwhile, investors kept an eye on Apple’s shares, waiting to see if the company’s market capitalization would hit the $3 trillion mark. While the stock closed up 2.3% at $180.33, that was below the $182.856 it will need to price for the market cap to hit $3 trillion. Apple would be the first company in history with such a rich valuation. The gain gave a boost to the tech sector. Other tech gainers included Microsoft, up 2.3% to $342.45, Nvidia, up 4.4% to $309.45, and Cisco, up 1.8% to $63.42. Electric-auto maker Tesla, which trades in the consumer discretionary group, climbed 2.5% to $1,093.94.

In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains. In Hong Kong, where trading had rested the previous day, prices recover while trading. Evergrande rises by 8.8, Hang Lung Properties by 2.4 and Longfor Group by 2.3 percent. The Shanghai composite closes virtually unchanged, as does the HSI in Hong Kong. Supported by a weaker yen, the Nikkei-225 rises 1.1 percent in Tokyo, reaching its highest level since late November. In South Korea, the Kospi (+0.3%) is trading slightly firmer. Energy and utility stocks rise, shipping and automotive stocks fall.

U.S. Treasury yields traded mixed Monday, with longer-dated debt edging back and the 2-year yield rising to a fresh 52-week high, its loftiest level since March of 2020, to kick off trade in the final week of 2021. The bond market was closed on Friday in observance of Christmas. The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield gave up 2 basis points to 1.479%.

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