It has been a very eventful day so far for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). At lunch, the benchmark index is down 0.3% but well off its intraday lows at 7,257.2 points.
Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:
Travel share volatility
The travel sector has been very volatile on Monday. The likes of Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) sank notably lower in early trade before recovering a good portion of these declines. Concerns over the impact that the Omicron variant could have on travel markets is behind this volatility.
Healthcare shares outperform
One area of the market performing positively today is the healthcare sector. Shares including Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) and Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) are recording solid gains at the time of writing. These two companies have been generating significant revenue from COVID-19 testing. Investors appear to believe the emergence of the Omicron variant will underpin strong demand for testing for some time to come.
Oil prices rebound
Energy shares including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) are performing relatively positively considering the 13% decline in the WTI crude oil price to US$68.15 on Friday night. This better than expected performance appears to have been driven by a rebound in oil prices this morning. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is now back up to US$70.94 a barrel. Santos and Woodside shares are down around 1% at lunch.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price with a 4% gain. The prospect of lockdowns in Europe could be boosting this pizza chain operator’s shares. The worst performer has been the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) share price with a 6% decline. While lockdowns in Europe could boost Domino’s sales, they would have the opposite effect on this shopping centre operator’s performance.
The post ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Omicron hits Flight Centre, Domino’s jumps appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.
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More reading
- Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price crashes 11% amid omicron fears
- These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
- When could Webjet (ASX:WEB) earnings return to pre-COVID levels?
- ASX energy shares on watch after Omicron sparks oil price crash
- 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited, Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.
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