GLOBAL MARKETS-Bulls take charge as Omicron concerns ease

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 492.4 points, or 1.4%, to 35,719.43, the S&P 500 gained 95.08 points, or 2.07%, to 4,686.75 and the Nasdaq Composite added 461.76 points, or 3.03%, to 15,686.92. The CBOE volatility index, often referred to the Wall Street fear gauge, eased from a more than 10-month high last week. It ended the day down 19.5 points at 21.89, its lowest close since Oct. 6.

NEW YORK/LONDON: Global equity markets and oil prices surged on Tuesday after a timely shot of Chinese stimulus helped spark a rally that was further fueled by views that the Omicron COVID-19 variant will not cause major economic damage.

The Nasdaq jumped 3% as technology shares bounced back, helping the FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European companies post its first back-to-back run of more than 1% gains since February.