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Triple witching and big tech unnerve markets, U.S. considers sanctions against China and Russia, and Joe Biden has deathly warning for unvac [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Triple witching and big tech unnerve markets, U.S. considers sanctions against China and Russia, and Joe Biden has deathly warning for unvaccinated. Witching and ditching Traders whipsawed by tech volatility now have to contend with the once-a-quarter event known as triple witching. The simultaneous expiration of stock options, index options and index futures has typically generated the year’s busiest -- and potentially most volatile -- trading days. The S&P 500 index has closed lower for seven consecutive triple witching dates. This time it comes during a [bout of volatility]( that’s been most pronounced on the Nasdaq 100. The tech-heavy index has already given up all its post-FOMC gains in yesterday’s 2.5% slide, as megacaps and speculative names alike get hammered by the prospect of rate hikes next year and lower sales expectations from marquee companies such as Adobe Inc. Spies and sanctions A Bloomberg News [investigation]( has found a key piece of evidence underpinning U.S. suspicions of Chinese spying using Huawei Technologies Co. as a conduit — a previously unreported breach that occurred halfway around the world nearly a decade ago. The news could harden resolve in Washington as it considers tougher [sanctions]( on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China’s largest chipmaker. The U.S. also has a broad package of sanctions ready against Russian banks and energy companies that it would impose in the event Russia invades Ukraine, and is [urging]( European Union allies to sign up to the effort. Winter’s coming President Joe Biden [warned]( that unvaccinated Americans face “a winter of severe illness and death” as he urged initial doses and booster shots amid a surge of coronavirus cases and the emergence of the omicron variant. Infections have surged 40% over the past two weeks across the country, and deaths have increased by more than a third during that same period, with more than 1,300 Americans dying of coronavirus daily. On Wall Street, [major banks]( are telling staff to [work from home](. Markets  The question of how tighter monetary policy will play out on overvalued stocks continued to [unsettle traders](. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.9% while a Bloomberg gauge of tech firms in the region fell 2%. Japan’s Topix index closed down 1.4%. In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index had dropped 0.8% at 5:40 a.m. Eastern Time with declines led by tech. Futures on both the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indexes pointed to a loss at the open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.426%, oil was down 2% to trade just above $70 a barrel and gold gained.  Coming up... It's a quiet day on the data front today. Canada's Teranet/National Bank Home Price Index is due at 8:30 a.m. [Colombia's central bank]( is expected to increase its policy rate by 50 basis points to 3% when it releases its latest decision at 1 p.m. Also at 1 p.m, the Baker Hughes rig count. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - [Gummy bears]( give Russia economist inside track on inflation - Central banks bet economies can [tolerate omicron](, not inflation - NYC sees o[ffices empty](, shows canceled as Covid wave sweeps in - Elon Musk might be selling, but [other insiders]( are buying their stock - Paris’s 126-year-old auto club still says [‘non’ to women]( members - Goldman says [$100 oil]( possible as record demand outpaces supply And finally, here’s what Garfield’s interested in this morning The final slate of central bank meetings for the year saw plenty of hawks spread their wings, but that’s not what you would think had happened if you only looked at bond yields. The Federal Reserve produced demonstrably hawkish outcomes but the moves in Treasuries this week were confusing. Policy makers sped up the tapering of asset purchases and forecast three rate hikes in 2022 versus at most one seen in September. Chair Jerome Powell raised the possibility of trimming the Fed’s massive balance sheet before too long to start withdrawing liquidity. Naturally, yields responded to all this by... well, going pretty much nowhere. Ten-year Treasuries ended up 2.5 basis points on the day of the FOMC, and most of that move came before the policy announcement.  Five-year yields dropped the following day on doubts about hikes. Two-year rates actually ended slightly down after the Fed, while rates traders deepened their skepticism that the central bank will raise as far and as fast as it is forecasting. And 2022’s economic outlook looks cloudy enough to offer plenty of support for bonds. The virus continues to wreak havoc on people’s lives, putting workers and students back to online mode as the spread of omicron variant fuels spikes in cases from New York to London, Sydney and Seoul. Follow Bloomberg's Garfield Reynolds on Twitter at [@GarfieldR1966]( Like Bloomberg's Five Things? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](