1) Wall Street closes higher as investors rotate to tech stocks
Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday, shaking off its slow start of the week as investors rotated to technology and financial stocks amid rising bond yield. Dow Jones gained 1.06% to 35,462.78 points, S&P 500 increased 0.84% and Nasdaq hiked 1.28%.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury note just hit a new high in more than two years at 1.97% on Tuesday, a level not seen since November 2019.
The U.S. inflation data for January will be reported this Thursday.
2) WHO says new omicron BA.2 subvariant could be more transmissible
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that it expects the new omicron BA.2 subvariant to be more transmissible, and infections will increase around the world. However, it is still not clear if the subvariant can reinfect people who caught the original version and earlier version of omicron. WHO added that it is currently tracking four versions of omicron.
3) US approves $100 million arm sale to Taiwan
The tension between the U.S. and China has accelerated again after Washington approved a possible $100 million sale of equipment and services to Taiwan. The U.S. said that this is to sustain, maintain, and improve its Patriot missile defence system.
4) US House approves short funding bill to avoid shutdown
The U.S. House passed a yet another temporary government funding bill that would prevent a shutdown later this month. The bill will be presented to the Senate to approve before the deadline on February 18, 2022. It will keep the government running through March 11.
