European equity markets are expected to rise after an encouraging study on Omicron. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,080.15 points (-0.68%), the CAC 40 at 6,765.52 points (-0.44%), the DAX 40 at 15.169.98 points (-0.61%), the FTSE 100 at 7,122.32 points (-0.10%), the SMI at 12,175.77 points (-0.01%), the AEX at 772.22 points (-0.84%), the BEL 20 at 4.123.99 points (-0.82%), the IBEX 35 at 8,241.70 points (-0.71%), the DJIA at 34,580.08 points (-0.17%), the Nasdaq at 15,085.47 points (-1.92%), the S&P 500 at 4,538.43 points (-0.84%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,927.37 points (-0.36%).

In terms of foreign exchange rates, the change from the close in New York shows EUR/USD opening at 1.1286 (-0.25%), EUR/JPY at 127.59 (-0.02%) and USD/JPY at 113.07 (+0.22%).

Investors will be paying attention to the health situation in France, where a defense council is scheduled for Monday. The government may decide on new measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic as the number of cases has been rising sharply in recent weeks. Also as part of Emmanuel Macron's trip to the Gulf, Airbus won an order for 26 civilian helicopters from Saudi Arabia's The Helicopter Company (THC) for an undisclosed amount.

European equity markets are expected to open higher on Monday, buoyed by hopes that the Omicron variant will not lead to an outbreak of new severe cases of Covid-19 and by rising crude oil prices. At 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract was up 64 points, or 0.9 percent, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX 40 contract was up 139 points, also 0.9 percent, and the FTSE 100 was up 58 points, or 0.8 percent.

In Asia, major stock indexes were headed lower Monday morning, hurt by a warning from property developer China Evergrande Group about a possible default on its debt. The Nikkei index closed down 0.4% in Tokyo, while the Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange lost 1.6% in late trading. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3%. Evergrande plunged 13.8 percent on Monday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as the Chinese property developer warned of possible cross-defaults on its dollar-denominated bonds as it was asked to repay $260 million in debt. Wall Street ended lower on Friday at the end of a week marked by uncertainty caused by the emergence of the Omicron variant. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 0.2% to 34,580.08 points. Weighed down by technology stocks, the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.8% to 4,538.43 points and the Nasdaq fell 1.9% to 15,08.47 points.

U.S. Treasury yields hit their lowest level in several months on Friday as concerns about U.S. monetary policy tightening and the Omicron variant weighed on the outlook for economic growth. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, the market's benchmark security, closed at 1.342% on Friday, according to Tradeweb, down from 1.447% the previous day. This is its lowest closing level since Sept. 22. Faced with the highest inflation in decades, many investors are betting on the Federal Reserve (Fed) raising short-term rates next year. The yield on two-year Treasuries, which often rises when investors anticipate a tightening of central bank policy, ended Friday's session at 0.589 percent, up from about 0.27 percent in early October.

The euro fell against the dollar Monday morning as the Omicron variant and the prospect of Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy raised concerns for global growth.

Oil contracts gained more than 2 percent Monday morning, buoyed by news that Saudi oil giant Aramco had raised its official selling prices. At 7:30 a.m., the February contract for North Sea Brent crude was up $1.51, or 2.2 percent, at $71.39 a barrel. The January contract for Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) was up $1.64, or 2.4%, at $67.86 a barrel.