GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks falter on Omicron variant concerns

MSCI's all-country world index closed down 0.26% after earlier trading 1.8% higher. The broad STOXX Europe 600 index closed up 1.7%, with Germany's DAX index gaining 2.5% and France's CAC40 adding 2.4.% On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.34%, the S&P 500 fell 1.18% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.83%. Only the S&P's utilities sector <.SPLRCU) closed higher.

NEW YORK: A gauge of global equity markets retreated from early gains on Wednesday as concerns about the first U.S. case of the Omicron variant and sooner-than-expected interest rate hikes next year by the Federal Reserve turned investor sentiment bearish.

The major economic sectors on Wall Street earlier were a sea of green while European stocks posted their best session in almost six months after Tuesday's sharp sell-off triggered by unease over rising inflation and questions regarding the new variant of the coronavirus.