Stocks are edging higher on Wall Street in early trading Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 slightly above the record closing high it set on Monday. Banks and technology companies helped lead the gains, while energy, the best-performing sector in the market this year, lagged behind.

European markets were mostly lower, after Asian markets closed mostly lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.52%. With three trading days left in the year, the S&P 500 is headed for a gain of more than 27% for 2021, nearly as big as its gain in 2019.

Overseas, France's CAC 40 edged up 0.1% in early trading to 7,190.22, while Germany's DAX slipped 0.2% to 15,935.45. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.1% to 7,449.16 — its highest level since February 2020, amid optimism that the omicron coronavirus variant may prove to be milder than earlier versions of the virus.

In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.6% to finish at 28,906.88. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.9% to 2,993.29, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.2% to 7,509.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.8% to 23,086.54, and the Shanghai Composite shed 0.9% to 3,597.00.

Although Asia has relatively few reported infection cases of the omicron variant compared to the U.S. and Europe, fears are growing that omicron will spread quickly once it gets going. The vaccination rate is about 80% in Japan, but booster shots have barely gotten started.

'Emereging From the COVID Tunnel'

“The wider point is that regardless of how ‘variant risks’ play out, the process of emerging from the COVID tunnel will be fraught with more heat than light,” meaning problems such as “impediments to unfettered global travel,” which will hobble any recovery, Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank said in a report.

Much is still uncertain about omicron, which is spreading extremely quickly and leading to a return to pandemic restrictions in some places. The variant is quickly becoming the dominant strain throughout the world.

While virus-related lockdowns and travel restrictions remain a big concern, most big investors have closed out their positions for 2021 and are likely to hold their ground until next week.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 18 cents to $76.16 a barrel from $75.98. Brent crude, the international standard, added 28 cents to $79.22 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 114.97 Japanese yen from 114.81 yen. The euro cost $1.1279, down from $1.1310.