Asian shares tick up, U.S. and European futures diverge on Omicron jitters

HONG KONG: Asian stocks and major currencies paused for breath on Thursday as markets struggled to find direction in the absence of solid information about the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus, which led to divergent trade in U.S. and European share futures.

Also weighing on traders' minds were remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, reiterating that he would consider a faster wind-down to the bond-buying programme, which could open the door to earlier interest rates hikes.