U.S. stocks opened 2022 with gains, though investors were monitoring cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and other factors that could weigh on stocks this year.
The S&P 500 gained 0.1% in midday trading, after a year where it rose 27% and notched 70 record highs along the way. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.